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poising

verb

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

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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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for poising
  1. bracing
  2. hovering
  3. fortifying
  4. floating
  5. readying
  6. sailing
  7. swimming
Verb
  • Parts of the Midwest are bracing for potentially significant flash flooding Saturday from rounds of heavy rain forecast to hit throughout the day.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Vyacheslav Prokofyev | Afp | Getty Images Russian President Vladimir Putin is bracing for a wartime reckoning as the Kremlin prepares to hold its first parliamentary election since the country's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
    — Sam Meredith,Anniek Bao, CNBC, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of bracing
Verb
  • With the 10-year treasury yield hovering around 5% and bond prices falling, investors who bought bond mutual funds or ETFs when yields were lower may be sitting on unrealized losses within their portfolio.
    — Cheryl Winokur Munk, CNBC, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Yes, the Whitney will have a gigantic 32-foot-by-25 1⁄2-foot Lichtenstein–by–Da Corte hovering over the Meatpacking District.
    — Nate Freeman, Vanity Fair, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of hovering
Verb
  • Organizations that invest in trust, well-being, continuous learning and upskilling will be best positioned to attract and retain talent while fortifying business performance.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026
  • On Monday, Kiffin said LSU would consider fortifying his team’s defensive tackle depth with another player.
    — Ralph D. Russo, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of fortifying
Verb
  • While floating-rate and short-duration instruments offer attractive yields with no or minimal interest-rate risk, investors can pick up some additional income by moving out slightly longer to intermediate-term bonds.
    — Michelle Fox, CNBC, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Visitors traveling across Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay earlier this month may have seen a strange-looking boat with wings and a whale-like tail floating in the estuary’s calm late-summer waters.
    — Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of floating
Verb
  • Last month, a judge denied Anthony's motion for a new trial, though the family is readying another appeal.
    — James Cirrone, FOXNews.com, 19 Sep. 2026
  • The city’s public works department has already activated its long-standing checklist for winter preparations, which includes being proactive about clearing storm drains, inlets and channels, and readying sandbags at about 30 flood-prone locations.
    — Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of readying
Verb
  • After sailing about half an hour, Choi’s navy yard utility boat slowed and hovered – never fully stopping as the water was far deeper than the length of the anchor.
    — Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2026
  • The Costa Cruises vessel was reportedly sailing from Naples to Sicily when the brawl erupted at sea.
    — Natalia Senanayake, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of sailing
Verb
  • The humpback was caught on video spouting water while swimming close to shore.
    — Megan Fahrney, ABC News, 18 Sep. 2026
  • After 15 hours and 5 minutes, Christine Turpin just kept swimming.
    — Rachel Roberts, Idaho Statesman, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of swimming
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.

Browse Nearby Words

poises
poising
poison
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Cite this Entry

“Poising.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poising. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

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