What does "poise" mean?
A state of balance, equilibrium or stability.
Poise
/pɔɪz/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A state of balance, equilibrium or stability.
- Grammar: poise is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: accommodate, act, action, actions.
- Useful contrasts: abashment, agitation, awkwardness.
- Usage evidence: Eleven-year-old Gracia sits in a chair that is two sizes too big for her, dangling her skinny legs and speaking with poise and wisdom about a life that has not been easy.
How to use "poise"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "poise" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "poise" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "poise" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "poise" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "poise" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "accommodate" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "poise", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A state of balance, equilibrium or stability. countable, uncountable
"plants and animals, which are all made up of and nourished by water, and perhaps never return to water again, do not keep things at a poise"
- 2 Unit of viscosity in the centimetre–gram–second system of units (CGS).
- 3 great coolness and composure under strain wordnet
- 4 Composure; freedom from embarrassment or affectation. countable, uncountable
- 5 a cgs unit of dynamic viscosity equal to one dyne-second per square centimeter; the viscosity of a fluid in which a force of one dyne per square centimeter maintains a velocity of 1 centimeter per second wordnet
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 Mien; bearing or deportment of the head or body. countable, uncountable
- 7 a state of being balanced in a stable equilibrium wordnet
- 8 A condition of hovering, or being suspended. countable, uncountable
- 9 A CGS unit of dynamic viscosity equal to one dyne-second per square centimetre. countable, uncountable
"Letterpress and offset gloss varnishes normally have viscosities varying from 50 to 250 poises; they must stain the paper as little as possible, have insufficient tack to cause plucking, […]"
- 10 Weight; an amount of weight, the amount something weighs. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"as an huge rockie clift, / Whose false foundation waues haue washt away, / With dreadfull poyse is from the mayneland rift, / […] So downe he fell […]"
- 11 The weight, or mass of metal, used in weighing, to balance the substance weighed. countable, uncountable
- 12 That which causes a balance; a counterweight. countable, uncountable
"As for Hyperboles, I will neither quote Lucan, nor Statius, Men of an unbounded imagination, but who often wanted the Poyze of Judgement."
Verb
- 1 To hang in equilibrium; to be balanced or suspended; hence, to be in suspense or doubt. obsolete
"The slender, graceful spars / Poise aloft in the air."
- 2 hold or carry in equilibrium wordnet
- 3 To counterpoise; to counterbalance. obsolete
"one scale of reason to poise another of sensuality"
- 4 cause to be balanced or suspended wordnet
- 5 To be of a given weight; to weigh. obsolete
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 prepare (oneself), often but not necessarily for something unpleasant or difficult wordnet
- 7 To add weight to, to weigh down. obsolete
"Every man poiseth [translating poise] upon his fellowes sinne, and elevates his owne."
- 8 be motionless, in suspension wordnet
- 9 To hold (something) with or against something else in equilibrium; to balance, counterpose. archaic
"you saw her faire none els being by, / Her selfe poysd with her selfe in either eye."
- 10 To hold (something) in equilibrium, to hold balanced and ready; to carry (something) ready to be used.
"I poised the crowbar in my hand, and waited."
- 11 To keep (something) in equilibrium; to hold suspended or balanced.
"The rock was poised precariously on the edge of the cliff."
- 12 To ascertain, as if by balancing; to weigh.
"He cannot sincerely consider the strength, poise the weight, and discern the evidence."
Antonyms
Example
"Eleven-year-old Gracia sits in a chair that is two sizes too big for her, dangling her skinny legs and speaking with poise and wisdom about a life that has not been easy."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "poise"?
Common synonyms include: accommodate, act, action, actions, activity, acts.
How do you use "poise" in a sentence?
Eleven-year-old Gracia sits in a chair that is two sizes too big for her, dangling her skinny legs and speaking with poise and wisdom about a life that has not been easy.
How do you pronounce "poise"?
Pronounced /pɔɪz/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English poys, poyse, from Anglo-Norman pois, Middle French pois (“weight”) and Anglo-Norman poise, Middle French poise (“measure of weight”), from Latin pendere (“to weigh, ponder, think”). Doublet of peise.
Etymology 2
From French physicist and physiologist Jean Léonard Marie Poiseuille.