1
as in equilibrium
a condition in which opposing forces are equal to one another
there must be a poise between the rights of the individual and the rights of society
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in posture
a general way of holding the body
the woman's poise suggested that she was accustomed to having her wishes carried out promptly and without question
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in to brace
to prepare (oneself) mentally or emotionally
the disgraced business executive poised herself for the difficult press conference
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to hover
to rest or move along the surface of a liquid or in the air
the falcon poised in the air for an instant before diving to attack its prey
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of poise
Tom Mulherin, Boston Herald, 24 Apr. 2026
Mechanical fixes are possible, but confidence, poise and recognition must be the foundation of any rebound.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 21 Apr. 2026
ABC News, 24 Apr. 2026
Democrats are poised to gain 10 seats to Republicans’ nine due to gerrymandering efforts from both parties.
—Hailey Bullis, The Washington Examiner, 22 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for poise
Noun
The outing wasn’t free of some jams, but Wright worked out of them with poise.
—Tom Mulherin, Boston Herald, 24 Apr. 2026
Mechanical fixes are possible, but confidence, poise and recognition must be the foundation of any rebound.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 21 Apr. 2026
Verb
During oral arguments last fall, the Supreme Court appeared poised to strike down Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which has been used to counter racially discriminatory election practices.
—ABC News, 24 Apr. 2026
Democrats are poised to gain 10 seats to Republicans’ nine due to gerrymandering efforts from both parties.
—Hailey Bullis, The Washington Examiner, 22 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for poise
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poise
Noun
-
There could be as many as ~1017 icy, round objects in hydrostatic equilibrium in the Milky Way galaxy alone, most of which are likely not bound to a parent star at all.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Either way, a break in the equilibrium holding a stock to support/resistance levels results in a breakout or breakdown.—
Zev Fima,
CNBC,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
But writ large, is there thought of increasing the country's security posture after last night?—
CBS News,
CBS News,
26 Apr. 2026
-
As the Navy’s prime submarine contractor, Electric Boat is at the center of a push to replace an aging submarine force as the country races to balance China’s rapid naval expansion and its increasingly hostile posture in the Indo-Pacific.—
Edmund H. Mahony,
Hartford Courant,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
On April 14th, as Kyiv braced for a round of Russian strikes, the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, was seven hundred and fifty miles away, in Berlin, forging a defense agreement with Germany, part of a tour of European allies to raise support for military aid.—
Sudarsan Raghavan,
New Yorker,
28 Apr. 2026
-
But as the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season nears, many Floridians are bracing for the storm, and that includes buying a hurricane preparedness kit, getting the hurricane shutters out of the garage, and/or devising what to do with your car.—
Jennifer Sangalang,
USA Today,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
So every draft really did hover around that range of 90 and 100 pages.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Apr. 2026
-
In the 1960s, when Mellencamp was coming of age, Jackson County, which includes his hometown Seymour, hovered around thirty-one thousand residents, with about 1 percent of that population composed of Black families.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Other candidates’ stances on kratom Efforts are underway at the federal level to crack down on 7-OH as health authorities scramble to better understand the highly addictive compound’s effects.—
Matthew Kelly
May 1,
Kansas City Star,
1 May 2026
-
Some have turned on Iranian Americans who have expressed antiwar opinions, interpreting that stance as support for the current government.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
Breslow’s job was to fortify that group, and his trade for first baseman Willson Contreras was not enough of an answer.—
Ken Rosenthal,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2026
-
Particularly so at the positions that Denver still needs to fortify.—
Parker Gabriel,
Denver Post,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The tune is jaunty, but this is the kind of patter that, in Wilson’s work, floats above a grave.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
26 Apr. 2026
-
The pipes and drains in the building that had originally been a gas station and café — and is now the main office and gift shop — were so dirty that, in the basement, Echols found 13 lawnmowers floating in four inches of water.—
Jonathan Bullington,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Even so, nuclear is the closest point of convergence between the two parties — a rare area where attitudes are narrowing rather than widening.—
Tiisetso Motsoeneng,
semafor.com,
27 Apr. 2026
-
But the team attitude appears to be in a healthy place.—
Josh Yohe,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Poise.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poise. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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