poise
/pɔɪz/noun
A calm, confident, and graceful way of behaving, especially in a difficult situation.
Example sentences
- “She answered the tough interview questions with great poise.”
- “Even at sixteen, the young singer showed remarkable poise on stage.”
- “He lost his poise and started shouting at the reporters.”
Typical patterns are 'with poise', 'keep your poise', and 'lose your poise'. The adjective 'poised' can also mean ready to act: 'poised to win'.