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recompose

American  
[ree-kuhm-pohz] / ˌri kəmˈpoʊz /

verb (used with object)

recomposed, recomposing
  1. to compose again; reconstitute; rearrange.

  2. to restore to composure or calmness.


recompose British  
/ ˌriːkəmˈpəʊz, ˌriːkɒmpəˈzɪʃən /

verb

  1. to restore to composure or calmness

  2. to arrange or compose again; reform

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of recompose

First recorded in 1605–15; re- + compose

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 the weeks and months after the 9/11 attacks, New York City began to slowly recompose itself.

From The Guardian Jun. 22, 2020

It was going on forever, and at a point I thought I should recompose and go look at where the ball actually is.

From Slate May 14, 2019

EC’s Taylor Reed says it took him a full day to recompose himself after wandering through the squalid mess.

From Seattle Times May 28, 2017

In the corridor, a little sing-song voice is calling: "Pietro! Pietro!" and I watch the doctor of Lampedusa hurriedly recompose himself to become once again the magical doctor of Disneyland.

From BBC Oct. 28, 2016

Joon’s face twitches as he tries to recompose himself, tries to relax the corners of his eyes and focus on something over Apa’s shoulder.

From "A Step from Heaven" by An Na

“The student body will be recomposed over time: some current students will self-select out, others will graduate; we’ll recruit new students who are mission-aligned.”

From Seattle Times Mar. 29, 2023

Erland said that after he composed the music, it is decomposed and recomposed.

From BBC Oct. 5, 2022

Travel restrictions made an accidental sleeper of the Torlonia family’s Greek and Roman sculptures: dozens of portrait busts, a hirsute billy goat reclining like a love god, a shattered Hercules recomposed from a hundred shards.

From New York Times Dec. 8, 2021

Zombies don’t have to be bat-bitten, red-eyed raveners, sinister and recomposed.

From Washington Post Dec. 2, 2020

“Hey, Cameron,” Irene said, seeming totally recomposed, or maybe she hadn’t ever lost composure.

From "The Miseducation of Cameron Post" by emily m. danforth

We have achieved something very important, which is recomposing our investment matrix.

From Barron's May 14, 2026

At the turn of the millennium, Mr. Gursky started digitally recomposing photographs to give them a look similar to abstract paintings.

From New York Times Jan. 29, 2018

Possibly having been transformed into black smoke and sucked through a socket before recomposing in human form has played havoc with his cognitive skills.

From The Guardian May 29, 2017

The 28-year-old Briton stormed the first set but allowed Sousa back in before recomposing himself in a 6-2 3-6 6-2 6-2 win against the number 32 seed.

From BBC Jan. 23, 2016

Yet her mind was busy thinking of the earlier jar, recomposing the details, recalling the words that had passed.

From Nocturne by Swinnerton, Frank

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