Meaning & use
self-possession
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Meanings
noununcountableformalapproving
The ability to stay calm and in control of your feelings, especially when a situation is stressful or awkward.
Grammar: Uncountable: with great self-possession, not a self-possession.
Patterns
- with self-possession
- show self-possession
- lose your self-possession
She answered the difficult questions with remarkable self-possession.
The young pilot kept his self-possession despite the engine alarm.
The hostess showed great self-possession when the power went out.
noununcountableapproving
A confident and relaxed manner that makes a person seem sure of themselves around others.
Grammar: Describes personal manner in general.
Patterns
- a quiet self-possession
- an air of self-possession
Her quiet self-possession made her seem older than twenty.
He walked into the room with an air of self-possession.
The speaker's self-possession won the audience's trust.
Common combinations
- remarkable self-possession
- The child sang with remarkable self-possession.
- keep your self-possession
- He kept his self-possession during the interview.
- lose your self-possession
- She never lost her self-possession in a crisis.
- calm self-possession
- Her calm self-possession reassured everyone.
- regain self-possession
- He soon regained his self-possession.
Synonyms and how they differ
- composure
- Composure is the more common word for staying calm and is a close match.
- poise
- Poise adds graceful, balanced behavior and suits public appearances.
- aplomb
- Aplomb stresses confident style in handling a difficult moment.
- equanimity
- Equanimity is more formal and means mental calm under any circumstance, even over a long period.
Opposites
Word family
- self-possessed adjective
- calm and in control
- possess verb
- to own or have
- possession noun
- something owned, or the state of owning
- self-control noun
- the ability to restrain emotions or actions
Commonly confused: self-possession or self-possessed?
self-possession vs self-possessed
Self-possessed is the adjective describing the person, while self-possession is the noun naming the quality.
Practice
Facing a room of reporters, the young minister answered every question with great ___.
Choose one answer.
Self-possession means calm control. Self-doubt and self-pity are negative feelings that would not fit someone answering well.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “self-possession”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.