Meaning & use
repose
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Meanings
noununcountableformalliterary
A state of quiet rest and calm, with no activity or disturbance.
Grammar: Usually uncountable and often after in: in repose.
Patterns
- in repose
Her face in repose looked younger and gentler.
The garden was a place of quiet repose.
The cat lay in perfect repose on the windowsill.
verbintransitiveliterary
To lie or rest quietly, or to be laid in a resting place.
Grammar: No object; often with a place: repose on a couch.
Patterns
- repose on something
- repose in something
The knight's body reposes in the chapel.
She reposed on the sofa after dinner.
The statue reposes beneath a canopy of stone.
verbtransitiveformalold-fashioned
To place trust, hope or confidence in someone or something.
Grammar: Takes an object and in: repose trust in someone.
Patterns
- repose trust in someone
The voters reposed their trust in the new leader.
He reposed great confidence in his advisers.
She had reposed her hopes in the plan.
Word forms
| third person singular | reposes |
|---|---|
| past tense | reposed |
| past participle | reposed |
| -ing form | reposing |
Common combinations
- in repose
- His face in repose seemed sad.
- quiet repose
- They enjoyed an hour of quiet repose.
- peaceful repose
- The lake lay in peaceful repose.
- repose trust in
- They reposed their trust in the committee.
- repose on
- The cat reposed on the cushion.
Synonyms and how they differ
- rest
- Rest is the everyday word, while repose sounds formal and suggests deep, calm stillness.
- tranquility
- Tranquility describes peaceful calm in general, while repose is the resting state of a person or thing.
- stillness
- Stillness emphasizes the lack of movement, whereas repose adds a feeling of ease.
- relaxation
- Relaxation suggests letting go of tension through some activity, while repose is simply quiet rest.
Opposites
Word family
- reposeful adjective
- calm and restful
- reposing adjective
- lying at rest
Commonly confused: repose or repost? repose or reposition?
repose vs repost
Repost means to publish something online again, and it is unrelated to rest.
repose vs reposition
Reposition means to move to a new place, while repose means to rest.
Practice
The sleeping child's face was calm and gentle in ___.
Choose one answer.
In repose means in a state of rest, with the face relaxed. Reproach, repeat and reprise do not fit the idiom.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “repose”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.