Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🔄 To rearrange 😌 To calm down
to recompose

to recompose

1 5.7
Make yourself calm again after being upset
  • verb
  • /ˌriːkəmˈpoʊz/
translation icon : recuperar la compostura
  • Nowadays, some digital cameras have a feature that causes overbright spots to blink on the LCD, which warns you immediately so that you can recompose to avoid the problem.

Examples

  • I recomposed myself, opened a gate for my mind to wander.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Then he takes a quick little gulp, recomposes himself, and calls up the fake little smile again.

    Blog text (30)

  • Ascolino recomposed himself with some difficulty.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Recompose, regroup, don't stay in that guilt.

    Blog text (27)

  • After the sudden news, she took a deep breath and recomposed herself before addressing the audience.

  • He needed a moment to recompose himself after the surprising announcement during the meeting.

  • Despite feeling overwhelmed, she managed to recompose herself and continue with the presentation.

Synonyms

to recover
vsto recompose
748 2.5

Get back to a normal state after a loss, for example health or money

is specifically about calming and self control after upset
to pull oneself together
vsto recompose
  • Informal
81 5.1

Get control of your feelings and calm down after being upset

is less about quick force and more steady calming
to get a grip
vsto recompose
  • Informal
56 5.6

To calm down and control your feelings

is a calmer return to self control after being upset
to rebound
vsto recompose
42 4.3

To get back to normal after a problem

is more about emotional calming than general quick recovery
to simmer down
vsto recompose
  • Informal
14 4.1

To become calm after strong feelings or to tell someone else to calm down

is about regaining inner control, not only gradual calming
to regather
vsto recompose
4.6

To get your calm and thoughts back after you feel upset or shocked

is focused on restoring calm rather than just collecting thoughts

Antonyms

to lose it
  • Informal
289 7.5

Suddenly stop controlling your feelings and become very angry or upset

How Calm

to recompose
1 5.7
to pull oneself together
  • Informal
81 5.1
to calm down
  • Informal
594 1.4

Surface Forms

recompose infinitive
recomposed past
recomposed past participle
recomposing present participle
recomposes third person singular

Morphology

recompose = compose (semi-transparent) = re + compose

Although morphologically regular (re- + compose), the sense 'recompose oneself' meaning 'regain calm' is idiomatic and not fully predictable from the literal sense of 'compose'.

Etymology

Recompose can also mean to get calm again because re- is 'again' and compose is 'to put together', so people imagine 'putting themselves together again'. A helpful way to remember this is that to recompose yourself is to 'get calm and ready' after being upset.