posture
Other forms: postures; posturing; postured
Posture is the way you position your body or arrange your limbs. So stand up straight, put your shoulders back, and lift that chin up.
Ballerinas have an elegant, graceful posture, and soldiers tend to display a rigid, strong posture. If you sit hunched over your desk every day you'll end up with terrible posture. This noun describes the way you carry yourself, but can also describe a certain body position you take, like the different postures in yoga. If you're accused of posturing though, that's a different story — that means you're behaving unnaturally to impress someone.
Definitions of posture
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the arrangement of the body and its limbs
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types:
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order arms
a position in the manual of arms; the rifle is held vertically on the right side with the butt on the ground; often used as a command
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ballet position
classical position of the body and especially the feet in ballet
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decubitus
a reclining position (as in a bed)
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eversion
the position of being turned outward
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lithotomy position
a position lying on your back with knees bent and thighs apart; assumed for vaginal or rectal examination
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lotus position
a sitting position with the legs crossed; used in yoga
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missionary position
a position for sexual intercourse; a man and woman lie facing each other with the man on top; so-called because missionaries thought it the proper position for primitive peoples
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pose
a posture assumed by models for photographic or artistic purposes
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presentation
(obstetrics) position of the fetus in the uterus relative to the birth canal
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ectopia
abnormal position of a part or organ (especially at the time of birth)
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asana
(Hinduism) a posture or manner of sitting (as in the practice of yoga)
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guard
a posture of defence in boxing or fencing
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sprawl, sprawling
an ungainly posture with arms and legs spread about
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stance
standing posture
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tuck
(sports) a bodily position adopted in some sports (such as diving or skiing) in which the knees are bent and the thighs are drawn close to the chest
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pose
a particular way of positioning or arranging one’s body
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pike
a position, as in gymnastics or diving, in which the legs are straight while the body is bent forward at the waist and the hands touch the feet or hold the calves
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arabesque
position in which the dancer has one leg raised behind and arms outstretched in a conventional pose
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matsyendra
(Hinduism) a religious posture
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address
the stance assumed by a golfer in preparation for hitting a golf ball
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attention
a motionless erect stance with arms at the sides and feet together; assumed by military personnel during drill or review
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erectness, uprightness
the property of being upright in posture
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type of:
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bodily property
an attribute of the body
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characteristic way of bearing one's body“stood with good posture”
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types:
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manner of walking, walk
manner of walking
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slouch
a stooping carriage in standing and walking
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gracefulness
beautiful carriage
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awkwardness, clumsiness
the carriage of someone whose movements and posture are ungainly or inelegant
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grace, gracility
elegance and beauty of movement or expression
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agility, legerity, lightness, lightsomeness, nimbleness
the gracefulness of a person or animal that is quick and nimble
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lissomeness, litheness, suppleness
the gracefulness of a person or animal that is flexible and supple
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gracelessness, ungracefulness
an unpleasant lack of grace in carriage or form or movement or expression
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gawkiness, ungainliness
the carriage of someone whose movements and posture are extremely ungainly and inelegant
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stiffness
the property of moving with pain or difficulty
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type of:
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bodily property
an attribute of the body
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a rationalized mental attitude
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types:
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hard line
a firm and uncompromising stance or position
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point of view, stand, standpoint, viewpoint
a mental position from which things are viewed
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cityscape
a viewpoint toward a city or other heavily populated area
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landscape
an extensive mental viewpoint
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angle, slant
a biased way of looking at or presenting something
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complexion
a point of view or general attitude or inclination
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type of:
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attitude, mental attitude
a complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and dispositions to act in certain ways
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behave affectedly or unnaturally in order to impress others“She postured and made a total fool of herself”
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synonyms:
pose
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types:
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attitudinise, attitudinize
assume certain affected attitudes
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attitudinise, attitudinize
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assume a posture as for artistic purposes
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capability in terms of personnel and materiel that affect the capacity to fight a war
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synonyms:
military capability, military posture, military strength, strength
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types:
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sea power
naval strength
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firepower
(military) the relative capacity for delivering fire on a target
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type of:
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capability, capableness
the quality of being capable -- physically or intellectually or legally
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sea power
Pronunciation
US
/ˈpɑstʃər/
UK
/ˈpɒstʃə/
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Word Family
Vocabulary lists containing posture
Gone
In the first book of the Gone series, the children of Perdido Beach wake up one morning to discover that everyone over the age of 14 has disappeared and many of town's remaining inhabitants have developed strange supernatural powers.
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