poise

1. 1.

   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

   Broaderunit of viscosity
2. 2.

   a state of being balanced in a stable equilibrium

   Broaderequilibrium
3. 3.

   great coolness and composure under strain

   “keep your cool”

   Synonymsaplombassurednesscoolsang-froid

   Broadercomposure

Other forms of poise

plural

poises·

past tense

poised·

present participle

poising·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about poise

What does poise mean?

poise means "be motionless, in suspension". That is the primary sense; the word has 7 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in poise?

poise has 1 syllable: poise. In IPA it is /ˈpɔɪz/.

What is another word for poise?

Close synonyms include brace, balance, aplomb, assuredness, cool. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is poise a common word?

poise is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.