| / English Dictionary |
POISED
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
In full control of your faculties
Example:
strong and self-possessed in the face of trouble
Synonyms:
collected; equanimous; poised; self-collected; self-contained; self-possessed
Classified under:
Similar:
composed (serenely self-possessed and free from agitation especially in times of stress)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Marked by balance or equilibrium and readiness for action
Example:
George's poised hammer
Classified under:
Similar:
balanced (being in a state of proper equilibrium)
II. (verb)
Sense 1
Past simple / past participle of the verb poise
Context examples:
Also I saw a great wave, curling and foaming, poised far above the rail.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
A high bald head had a small velvet smoking-cap poised coquettishly upon one side of its pink curve.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Two international teams of scientists led by Tim Miller from Dalhousie University in Canada and Yale University in the US and Iván Oteo from the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom, have uncovered startlingly dense concentrations of galaxies that are poised to merge, forming the cores of what will eventually become colossal galaxy clusters.
(Ancient Galaxy Megamergers, ESO)
John laughed, and watched her for a minute, as she poised a pretty little preparation of lace and flowers on her hand, and regarded it with the genuine interest which his harangue had failed to waken.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
Merlin Burrows, which calls itself a land and sea search company specializing in finding forgotten or hidden things, is poised to release a documentary about what it says may finally be proof that Atlantis was real.
(Researchers Claim to Have Found Mythical City of Atlantis in Spain, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
She, too, was attired in oriental fashion: a crimson scarf tied sash-like round the waist: an embroidered handkerchief knotted about her temples; her beautifully-moulded arms bare, one of them upraised in the act of supporting a pitcher, poised gracefully on her head.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
It is as if almost every planet in our solar system will be poised to send you special opportunities and happy circumstances this month.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
In reality, he never rested, and a weaker body or a less firmly poised brain would have been prostrated in a general break-down.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
He was too self-possessed, too strongly poised in his own isolation.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
Her jet-black hair was gathered back under a light pink coif, her head poised proudly upon her neck, and her step long and springy, like that of some wild, tireless woodland creature.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
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