composure
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
- noncomposure noun
Etymology
Origin of composure
Explanation
When you stay calm under pressure, you keep your composure. Keeping your composure for a skinned knee? Easy. Keeping your composure during an avalanche? Not so easy. The word composure is from the related word composed, but don't think of the word in the musical sense. In this case, composed means calm. What's the difference between the two? Well, composed is an adjective, so you simply are composed. Composure, on the other hand, is a noun, so you can lose, keep, regain, or maintain your composure — your ability to stay calm. If you lose your composure, you're freaking out.
Vocabulary lists containing composure
Metamorphosis
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The Things They Carried
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Inside Out & Back Again
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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.
But rather than reacting rashly, he marshaled a tenacious defense, not losing his composure or allowing himself to be tempted into a hotheaded action that could have led to disaster.
From Slate • Apr. 13, 2026
Whisk in milk with a diplomatic splash of chicken stock, slowly, so the mixture thickens with composure.
From Salon • Apr. 7, 2026
London City Lionesses forward Nikita Parris said it was a "poor refereeing decision" while ex-striker Ellen White called for more composure from the officials.
From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026
Markets have, by and large, maintained their composure in the face of a 60% rise in the price of Brent in the last month.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 19, 2026
His bared teeth were a hand’s breadth from the Lady’s face, and she gazed at him with perfect composure.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
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.
