poising

verb

Definition of poisingnext
present participle of poise
1
as in bracing
to prepare (oneself) mentally or emotionally the disgraced business executive poised herself for the difficult press conference

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in hovering
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

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for poising
  1. bracing
  2. hovering
  3. floating
  4. readying
Verb
  • In Alaska, some areas are bracing for eight inches of snow, plus strong winds of up to 45 mph, prompting the National Weather Service (NWS) to caution drivers to go slow and keep safe.
    Hannah Parry, Newsweek, 23 Dec. 2024
  • What Happens Next Authorities are bracing for even higher numbers as political instability in the region drives more people to attempt the perilous journey across the sea.
    Gord Magill, Newsweek, 21 Dec. 2024
Definition of bracing
Verb
  • Countless people have reported mysterious hovering objects dotting the night skies and posted blurred images — a white light, a black background — on social media.
    Michael Wilson, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2024
  • Gone are the days when connecting with others meant hovering awkwardly around a plate of sweating cheese cubes, or trying to fit your whole name on a too-small name tag.
    Aytekin Tank, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024
Definition of hovering
Verb
  • That served to keep things fresh after four seasons; S5 will focus on the death of the building's doorman, found floating in the Arcadia's fountain in the season finale.
    Ars Technica, Ars Technica, 24 Dec. 2024
  • Video showed one worker stranded on a piece of the pier floating in the water being rescued by a first responder on a jet ski.
    Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 24 Dec. 2024
Definition of floating
Verb
  • Landman is the second Sheridan series for Randolph, who is readying to release season two of Yellowstone prequel 1923.
    Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Dec. 2024
  • The regulator has also issued a stark warning for businesses that might be readying themselves for the gloves to come off in February when the changes kick in.
    Zak Doffman, Forbes, 21 Dec. 2024
Definition of readying
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near poising

poises

poising

poison

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Poising.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poising. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on poising

Nglish: Translation of poising for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of poising for Arabic Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

Point of View: It's Personal

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Words You Always Have to Look Up
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

8 Words with Fascinating Histories

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

10 Scrabble Words Without Any Vowels
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
naughty or nice
Are you naughty or nice? Quiz He's making a quiz, and checking it twice...