compose

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compose

create or put together; constitute; to calm one’s mind or body: After the accident, it took me a long time to compose myself.

Not to be confused with:

comprise – to include all; contain: Fifty states comprise the Union.

com·pose

(kəm-pōz′)

v. com·posed, com·pos·ing, com·pos·es

v.tr.

1. To make up the constituent parts of; constitute or form: an exhibit composed of French paintings; the many ethnic groups that compose our nation. See Usage Note at comprise.

2. To make or create by putting together parts or elements.

3. To create or produce (a literary or musical piece).

4. To make (oneself) calm or tranquil: Compose yourself and deal with the problems logically.

5. To settle or adjust; reconcile: They managed to compose their differences.

6. To arrange aesthetically or artistically.

7. Printing To arrange or set (type or matter to be printed).

v.intr.

1. To create a literary or musical piece.

2. Printing To set type.

[Middle English composen, from Old French composer, alteration (influenced by poser, to put, place) of Latin compōnere; see component.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

compose

(kəmˈpəʊz)

vb (mainly tr)

1. to put together or make up by combining; put in proper order

2. to be the component elements of

3. (Music, other) to produce or create (a musical or literary work)

4. (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) to produce or create (a musical or literary work)

5. (Music, other) (intr) to write music

6. to calm (someone, esp oneself); make quiet

7. to adjust or settle (a quarrel, etc)

8. (Art Terms) to order the elements of (a painting, sculpture, etc); design

9. (Printing, Lithography & Bookbinding) printing to set up (type)

[C15: from Old French composer, from Latin compōnere to put in place; see component]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

com•pose

(kəmˈpoʊz)

v. -posed, -pos•ing. v.t.

1. to be or constitute the parts, elements, or materials of; make up; form the basis of: a sauce composed of many ingredients.

2. to make or form by combining things, parts, or elements: to compose a speech from research notes.

3. to create (a musical, literary, or choreographic work).

4. to put or dispose in proper form or order.

5. to arrange the elements of, esp. in an aesthetic manner.

6. to end or settle (a quarrel, dispute, etc.): The union and management composed their differences.

7. to bring (oneself, one's mind, etc.) to a condition of calmness, repose, etc.; calm; settle.

a. to set (type).

b. to set type for (an article, book, etc.).

v.i.

9. to engage in composition, esp. musical composition.

10. to enter into composition; fall into an arrangement.

[1375–1425; late Middle English < Middle French composer]

compose

Past participle: composed
Gerund: composing

Imperative
compose
compose

Present
I compose
you compose
he/she/it composes
we compose
you compose
they compose

Preterite
I composed
you composed
he/she/it composed
we composed
you composed
they composed

Present Continuous
I am composing
you are composing
he/she/it is composing
we are composing
you are composing
they are composing

Present Perfect
I have composed
you have composed
he/she/it has composed
we have composed
you have composed
they have composed

Past Continuous
I was composing
you were composing
he/she/it was composing
we were composing
you were composing
they were composing

Past Perfect
I had composed
you had composed
he/she/it had composed
we had composed
you had composed
they had composed

Future
I will compose
you will compose
he/she/it will compose
we will compose
you will compose
they will compose

Future Perfect
I will have composed
you will have composed
he/she/it will have composed
we will have composed
you will have composed
they will have composed

Future Continuous
I will be composing
you will be composing
he/she/it will be composing
we will be composing
you will be composing
they will be composing

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been composing
you have been composing
he/she/it has been composing
we have been composing
you have been composing
they have been composing

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been composing
you will have been composing
he/she/it will have been composing
we will have been composing
you will have been composing
they will have been composing

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been composing
you had been composing
he/she/it had been composing
we had been composing
you had been composing
they had been composing

Conditional
I would compose
you would compose
he/she/it would compose
we would compose
you would compose
they would compose

Past Conditional
I would have composed
you would have composed
he/she/it would have composed
we would have composed
you would have composed
they would have composed

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Verb	1.	compose - form the substance of; "Greed and ambition composed his personality" constitute, make up, comprise, be, represent - form or compose; "This money is my only income"; "The stone wall was the backdrop for the performance"; "These constitute my entire belonging"; "The children made up the chorus"; "This sum represents my entire income for a year"; "These few men comprise his entire army"
	2.	compose - write music; "Beethoven composed nine symphonies" write music - an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner create, make - make or cause to be or to become; "make a mess in one's office"; "create a furor" counterpoint - write in counterpoint; "Bach perfected the art of counterpointing" set to music - write (music) for (a text) arrange, set - adapt for performance in a different way; "set this poem to music" score - write a musical score for melodise, melodize - supply a melody for harmonise, harmonize - write a harmony for instrumentate, instrument - write an instrumental score for
	3.	compose - produce a literary work; "She composed a poem"; "He wrote four novels" indite, pen, write authorship, penning, writing, composition - the act of creating written works; "writing was a form of therapy for him"; "it was a matter of disputed authorship" draw - write a legal document or paper; "The deed was drawn in the lawyer's office" create verbally - create with or from words lyric - write lyrics for (a song) write about, write of, write on - write about a particular topic; "Snow wrote about China" profile - write about; "The author of this article profiles a famous painter" paragraph - write paragraphs; work as a paragrapher paragraph - write about in a paragraph; "All her friends were paragraphed in last Monday's paper" write off - write something fluently, and without hesitation dash off, fling off, scratch off, toss off, knock off - write quickly; "She dashed off a note to her husband saying she would not be home for supper"; "He scratched off a thank-you note to the hostess" rewrite - rewrite so as to make fit to suit a new or different purpose; "re-write a play for use in schools" write copy - write for commercial publications; "She writes copy for Harper's Bazaar" dramatise, dramatize, adopt - put into dramatic form; "adopt a book for a screenplay" draft, outline - draw up an outline or sketch for something; "draft a speech" poetise, poetize, verse, versify - compose verses or put into verse; "He versified the ancient saga" author - be the author of; "She authored this play" annotate, footnote - add explanatory notes to or supply with critical comments; "The scholar annotated the early edition of a famous novel" reference, cite - refer to; "he referenced his colleagues' work" publish, write - have (one's written work) issued for publication; "How many books did Georges Simenon write?"; "She published 25 books during her long career" write out, write up - put into writing; write in complete form; "write out a contract" script - write a script for; "The playwright scripted the movie"
	4.	compose - put together out of existing material; "compile a list" compile cobble together, cobble up - put together hastily anthologise, anthologize - compile an anthology catalog, catalogue - make a catalogue, compile a catalogue; "She spends her weekends cataloguing" make - make by shaping or bringing together constituents; "make a dress"; "make a cake"; "make a wall of stones"
	5.	compose - calm (someone, especially oneself); make quiet; "She had to compose herself before she could reply to this terrible insult" calm, still, tranquilize, tranquillise, tranquillize, calm down, quiet, quieten, lull - make calm or still; "quiet the dragons of worry and fear"
	6.	compose - make up plans or basic details for; "frame a policy" draw up, frame plan - make plans for something; "He is planning a trip with his family"

compose

verb

1. put together, make up, constitute, comprise, make, build, form, fashion, construct, compound They agreed to form a council composed of leaders of the rival factions.
put together destroy, dismantle, demolish, obliterate, bulldoze, raze

2. create, write, produce, imagine, frame, invent, devise, contrive He started at once to compose a reply to her letter.

3. arrange, make up, construct, put together, order, organize The drawing is beautifully composed.

compose yourself calm, still, control, settle, collect, quiet, soothe, pull yourself together She quickly composed herself before she entered the room.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

compose

verb

1. To be the constituent parts of:

constitute, form, make (up).

2. To create by combining parts or elements:

build, configure, form, pattern, shape, structure.

3. To form by artistic effort:

create, indite, produce, write.

4. To bring one's emotions under control:

collect, contain, control, cool, simmer down.

Idiom: cool it.

Translations

يُؤلِّفيُكَوِّنيَهْدَأ

sepsatskládatsložituklidnit

fatte sigforfattekomponeresammensætte

komponieren zusammensetzen zusammenstellen abfassen beruhigen

συνθέτω συντάσσω

calmarse componer serenarse

koostamaloomamoodustamarahunemasisaldama

käsittääkoostaakootamuodostaarauhoittua

composer écrire joindre assembler calmer

lecsillapodikzenét szerez

róa sig, stilla sigsemjasetja saman

comporre composito compositore composizione materia artificiale

komponuotikompozicijakompozitoriuskūrinyskūryba

komponētnomierinātnomierinātiessacerētsastādīt

bedaren omvatten samenstellen vormen

danne forfatte komponere

слагать

skladať

skladati

bestelemekoluşturmaktoparlamak yazmak

使安定创作组成

compose

[kəmˈpəʊz] VT

1. [+ music] → componer; [+ poetry, letter] → escribir
to be composed of → constar de, componerse de

2. to compose o.s → calmarse, serenarse

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

compose

[kəmˈpəʊz] vt

[+ music, symphony, song] → composer

[+ letter] → rédiger

to compose o.s. → se calmer, se maîtriser

(= constitute) to be composed of → se composer de

compose

music → komponieren; letter → abfassen, aufsetzen; poem, e-mail → verfassen; “compose” (e-mail) → „neue Nachricht“

(= constitute, make up) → bilden; to be composed of → sich zusammensetzen aus; water is composed of … → Wasser besteht aus …

to compose oneself → sich sammeln; to compose one’s features → sich wieder in die Gewalt bekommen; to compose one’s thoughts → Ordnung in seine Gedanken bringen

(Typ) → setzen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

compose

[kəmˈpəʊz] vt

a. (music, poetry) → comporre; (letter) → mettere insieme
to be composed of → essere composto/a di

b. (calm, thoughts) → riordinare
to compose o.s. → ricomporsi

compose

(kəmˈpəuz) verb

1. to form by putting parts together. A word is composed of several letters.

2. to write (eg music, poetry etc). Mozart began to compose when he was six years old.

3. to control (oneself) after being upset.

comˈposed adjective

(of people) quiet and calm. She looked quite composed.

comˈposer noun

a writer, especially of a piece of music.

composition (kompəˈziʃən) noun

1. something composed, eg music. his latest composition.

2. the act of composing. the difficulties of composition.

3. an essay written as a school exercise. The children had to write a composition about their holiday.

4. the parts of which a thing is made. Have you studied the composition of the chemical?

comˈposure (-ʒə) noun

calmness. I admired her composure.

References in classic literature ?

That a city then precedes an individual is plain, for if an individual is not in himself sufficient to compose a perfect government, he is to a city as other parts are to a whole; but he that is incapable of society, or so complete in himself as not to want it, makes no part of a city, as a beast or a god.

View in context

The controls to the new compose box are easily accessible and won't come in the users way.

Gmail now lets you compose emails in fullscreen

And I'd like to compose again for the orchestra; it provides such a varied and limitless palette of sounds that I think it would be hard to ever grow tired of it.

2005 MTNA-Shepherd Distinguished Composer of the Year: Michael Djupstrom

The new update allows users to add Labels and Stars to the message from the new compose feature.

Google updates Gmail, allows adding Label, Star from Compose box

When you compose mails in Gmail from now on, a New Message box will open just like a chat window.

Gmail introduces new Compose mail box features

Rahim said that he will compose the opening and the closing song of the drama series.

Muhammad Rahim,COs album in stores

The Orff method is a great introduction to music, especially for creative young people who may go on to compose. In my music classes there was always an emphasis on performance and improvisation.

2004 Distinguished Composer of the Year Stefan Freund

In the second, addressed to Jean de Pardeillan ("Panjas"), secretary to cardinal Georges d'Armagnac, Du Bellay enumerates his administrative responsibilities, which he ironically calls "pastimes" ("passetemps") and then concludes, "Don't you wonder how I manage to compose verse?" ("Ne t'esbahis-tu point comment je fais des vers?" 15.14).

Letters from home: the epistolary aspects of Joachim Du Bellay's 'Les Regrets.'

The "own voice" is not something isolated from the "community voice." A composer does not live and compose in a vacuum, which means that if this "own voice" is something authentic, it will somehow express the composer's environment.

Meet the 2003 MTNA-Shepherd: Distinguished Composer of the Year

I determined sessions as more successful when (A) the writer already had strong ideas regarding the nature of what they wanted to compose, in what media, and through which software, and/or (B) when the tutor expressed additional confidence garnered through regular engagement with multimodal projects and software outside of tutor education and regularly scheduled tutoring hours (a confidence they may or may not have garnered through their disciplinary coursework).

The Role of New Media Expertise in Shaping Consultations

In a somewhat similar situation, a Google executive encountered a problem in Gmail's "Smart Compose" feature when it suggested a strange follow-up question.

Google blocks gender-based pronouns from Gmail's "Smart Compose" feature

He said the Palace wants more government offices than farmer representatives to compose the Philippine Coconut Authority board, which will manage the fund.