Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A calm or tranquil state of mind; self-possession.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The act of composing; composition.
- n. That which is composed; a composition.
- n. Arrangement; combination; order; adjustment; disposition; posture.
- n. Frame; composition; hence, temperament; disposition; constitution.
- n. A composed state of mind; serenity; calmness; tranquillity.
- n. Agreement; settlement of differences; composition.
- n. Combination; bond.
Wiktionary
- n. Calmness of mind or matter, self-possession.
- n. obsolete The act of composing, or that which is composed; a composition.
- n. obsolete Orderly adjustment; disposition.
- n. obsolete frame; make; temperament
- n. obsolete A combination; a union; a bond.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. obsolete The act of composing, or that which is composed; a composition.
- n. obsolete Orderly adjustment; disposition.
- n. obsolete Frame; make; temperament.
- n. A settled state; calmness; sedateness; tranquillity; repose.
- n. obsolete A combination; a union; a bond.
WordNet 3.0
- n. steadiness of mind under stress
Etymologies
- compose + -ure (Wiktionary)
- From compose. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“February 17th, 2010 at 11: 04 am gummitch -- this space for rent says: jwest: Look at the crazy eyes, poor personal hygiene, radical support for Obama, inability to maintain composure in an IHOP restaurant – all immediate warning signs of liberalism.”
“Look at the crazy eyes, poor personal hygiene, radical support for Obama, inability to maintain composure in an IHOP restaurant – all immediate warning signs of liberalism.”
“While an overarching character trait of Obama's is to maintain composure in the face of racial hysteria -- which tends to be lurking at the bottom of much of the Tea Party -- that does not mean that the best thing to do is ignore the outspoken opposition.”
“Step 4: Regain composure and prepare for a lifetime of monogamous dove love.”
“And I can think of only one place in America where your Halloween composure is unlikely to be ruffled by endless quantities of cheap and glittering candies: the past.”
The Huffington Post: How Candy And Halloween Became Best Friends
“I picked up this tactic from several different hunting shows and it has helped me maintain composure when I draw back on an animal that I am both willing and intending to shoot.”
“Looking back I can see even deeper emotions lurking behind those closed doors: the desire, always fierce with me, to present a tidy façade to the world, to maintain composure by not permitting too much disturbance on the inside.”
“I can appreciate the sentiment of defending a book you love, but maintaining composure is key.”
Rabid Reads "Ghost Huntress: The Awakening" by Marley Gibson
“It's been a few years since I last saw that movie, but I can still remember Lambert's feckless attempts to maintain composure and stay alive.”
“HAHAHA … (repeat for five minutes, interspersed with multiple pauses for breath, attempts to regain composure, and resumption of laughter)”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘composure’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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Words sung by: Belle and Sebastian
beguiling, herbaceous, peninsula, suffragette, damascan, hastening, berserk, overtime, leccy, bestow, swathe, arab strap and 193 more...
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Hence
Words with definitions that have a "hence" in them.
hanger, Deet, tripe, spindlelegs, fiddle, store, pluck, snap, villain, link, comedy, particular and 410 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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Vampire Words
Words that make me think of Vampire: The Requiem
torpor, torpid, amaranth, vitae, embrace, ventrue, toreador, masquerade, dominate, nightmare, majesty, dread and 103 more...
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Personal Vocabulary List
All my favourite words that I come across!
veritable, incongruence, rigamorole, letcherous, revolting, repulsive, reputrid, rapatious, forays, guise, placate, paradigm and 1162 more...
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eggplantia5's Words
scintillate, marvel, cranberry, oscillate, triumph, bamboozle, grimace, magical, book, hexagon, cipher, compendium and 2727 more...
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Vocab ##5
appint, monarch, counterpart, muse, bestow, unwitting, aghast, admonish, wage, decree, cavalry, phalanx and 126 more...
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1stDay
lucid, tenacious, adhesive, cling, reconcile, scenic, picturesque, inundate, gastrointestinal, diarrhea, heredity, alimentary canal and 89 more...
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colleen's words
yellow, green, pie, blue, fur, people, incense, book, brown, avuncular, mountain, fog and 1316 more...
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nominative case collection
wine stopper, pyre, roster, hamper, moleskin, elastic, pinnacle, facsimile, nook, plonk, contortionist, dismay and 342 more...
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Revised GRE Wordlist_2013
Vocabulary building for my quest of GRE 2013
ephemeral, esoteric, rhetoric, censure, egregious, pittance, dupe, mulct, paucity, alacrity, maintain, laconic and 997 more...
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Misc. Words.
Words I like to use, words I like but may forget.
corrosion, astonish, solace, ferment, continuum, kinesthetic, permeate, repose, caprice, cardinal, discourse, surrender and 610 more...
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SAT PSAT ALPHABETICAL C
cabal, cache, cacophony, cadaverous, cadence, cajole, callous, callow, calumny, calvary, camaraderie, canard and 199 more...
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No Comeuppance!
comeuppance, ersatz, mensuration, felicitous, puissant, coccyx, groin vault, jactitation, titivate, crapulous, bibulous, lucubration and 116 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for composure.

bilby Yeah, nothing worse than composure that's too tight around the neck. Jul 12, 2012
dailyword Watson would often loose this when Holmes got hurt. Jul 12, 2012
Prolagus Song quotation on raggedy. Nov 26, 2008