Posture Meaning
/ˈpɒst͡ʃə/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe way a person holds and positions their body.
nounA situation or condition.
Sentence Examples
He likes to posture as an intellectual.
A lot of back problems can be attributed to poor sitting posture.
Proper posture is necessary to maintain good health.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The physical therapist told her to always improve her ____ by standing up straight.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She was advised to improve her ____ by sitting up straight and avoiding slouching at her desk.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from Middle French posture, from Italian postura, from Latin positūra (“position, situation”). Doublet of positura.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"As if that whatsoever god who leads him
Were slily crept into his human powers,
And gave him graceful posture."
— c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
"[…] walking in a most dejected posture, without a band, unbraced, his arms a-cross his open breast, and his eyes bent to the floor;"
— a. 1689, Aphra Behn, Love-Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister:
"Rise, sir, from this semi-recumbent posture. It is most indecorous."
— 1895, Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest […] , [Act I]:
"Even as I was reading these fables of my millions, there lay on the desk before me a statement of the exact posture of my affairs […]"
— 1905, David Graham Phillips, The Deluge:
"Uncle Jim stopped amazed. His brain did not instantly rise to the new posture of things."
— 1910, H.G. Wells, The History of Mr Polly:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The physical therapist told her to always improve her ____ by standing up straight.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She was advised to improve her ____ by sitting up straight and avoiding slouching at her desk.