posture
Americannoun
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postures
plural
-
the relative disposition of the parts of something.
-
the position of the limbs or the carriage of the body as a whole.
poor posture; a sitting posture.
-
an affected or unnatural attitude.
He struck a comic posture.
-
a mental or spiritual attitude.
His ideas reveal a defensive posture.
-
one's image or policy as perceived by the public, other nations, etc..
The company wants to develop a more aggressive marketing posture.
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position, condition, or state, as of affairs.
verb (used with object)
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postures,
present (3rd person singular)
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postured,
past participle, past
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posturing
present participle
-
to place in a particular posture or attitude.
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to position, especially strategically.
to posture troops along a border.
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to develop a policy or stance for (oneself, a company, government, etc.).
The White House postured itself for dealing with the fuel crisis.
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to adopt an attitude or take an official position on (a matter).
The company postured that the court's ruling could be interpreted as being in its favor.
verb (used without object)
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postures,
present (3rd person singular)
-
postured,
past participle, past
-
posturing
present participle
-
to assume a particular posture.
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to assume affected or unnatural postures, as by bending or contorting the body.
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to act in an affected or artificial manner, as to create a certain impression.
noun
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a position or attitude of the limbs or body
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a characteristic manner of bearing the body; carriage
to have good posture
-
the disposition of the parts of a visible object
-
a mental attitude or frame of mind
-
a state, situation, or condition
-
a false or affected attitude; pose
verb
-
to assume or cause to assume a bodily position or attitude
-
(intr) to assume an affected or unnatural bodily or mental posture; pose
Synonym Usage
See position.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
posturesimple
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posturessimple
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have posturedperfect
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has posturedperfect
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am posturingprogressive
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are posturingprogressive
-
is posturingprogressive
-
have been posturingperfect progressive
-
has been posturingperfect progressive
Past
-
posturedsimple
-
had posturedperfect
-
was posturingprogressive
-
were posturingprogressive
-
had been posturingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of posture
First recorded in 1595–1605; from French, from Italian postura, from Latin positūra. See posit, -ure
Explanation
Posture is the way you position your body or arrange your limbs. So stand up straight, put your shoulders back, and lift that chin up. Ballerinas have an elegant, graceful posture, and soldiers tend to display a rigid, strong posture. If you sit hunched over your desk every day you'll end up with terrible posture. This noun describes the way you carry yourself, but can also describe a certain body position you take, like the different postures in yoga. If you're accused of posturing though, that's a different story — that means you're behaving unnaturally to impress someone.
Vocabulary lists containing posture
Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 1
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"Civil Disobedience," Vocabulary from the essay
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"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act V
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In a world of rising interest rates, CrossBorder Capital’s Mike Howell believes investors should maintain a defensive posture, hedge against inflation, buy gold and commodities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Under the South Korea-US combined defence posture "our military is maintaining the capability and readiness to respond overwhelmingly to any provocation", Seoul's JCS said Thursday.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
But as excitement over his campaign began to mount among progressives on a national level, Ryan said, El-Sayed’s public posture swung to a middle ground.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Armony cautioned that simply changing posture is unlikely to produce a dramatic transformation in someone's life.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026
The clear, if unspoken, message of Jefferson’s letter was that this admirable posture was no longer possible in American politics.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
When the cerebellum is disrupted, people can experience symptoms including painful muscle contractions, abnormal postures, and uncontrollable shaking.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 1, 2026
“Power Ballad” postures like a sincere drama but has the set pieces of a giant slapstick farce.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
Yu Ji’s cement sculptures take the shape of contorted human bodies—not uncomfortable but limberly twisted and folded—that are missing limbs; their contrasting materials and postures at once suggest permanence and evanescence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 13, 2026
In a transformation this fundamental, those defensive postures carry real costs.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 18, 2025
With gestures, he indicated that he would demonstrate to me the proper prayer ritual postures.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
"These movements ensured that US forces remain postured, protected and ready to respond decisively for any emerging threat," he said.
From Barron's ● Mar. 2, 2026
“I can tell you right now with full certainty, we are not postured to, nor do we intend or expect to take any military action in Venezuela at any time.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 28, 2026
“As announced in September 2023, the Department of Defense is postured to provide robust enabling support for the MSS, including planning assistance, information sharing, airlift, communications, and medical support,” Southern Command said.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 10, 2024
Mr Austin told the committee in his opening statement that there has been a review of the chain of command process, saying the "system must be postured better" so this does not happen again.
From BBC ● Feb. 29, 2024
With some you postured and with some you groveled and with some you were imperious.
From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara
But this tyrannical posturing reminds me not of some low-rent X-Men film but rather Syndrome, the villain in the Pixar classic “The Incredibles.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
It appears that there were more to these Iranian threats than just posturing.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
It’s also possible that the hints about export controls are diplomatic posturing by the Chinese government, intended to discourage the U.S. from imposing any restrictions on its technological freedoms.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
Instead of being treated with the seriousness they deserve, these topics are handled by the exhibition as opportunities for posturing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
I’m not afraid: That’s really all I wanted to be able to say, and to say it without posturing.
From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
