a·plomb

(ə-plŏm′, ə-plŭm′)

Self-confident assurance; poise: "It is native personality ... that endows a man to stand before presidents or generals ... with aplomb" (Walt Whitman).

[French, from Old French a plomb, perpendicularly : a, according to (from Latin ad-; see ad-) + plomb, lead weight (from Latin plumbum, lead).]

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.

aplomb

(əˈplɒm)

equanimity, self-confidence, or self-possession

[C18: from French: rectitude, uprightness, from à plomb according to the plumb line, vertically]

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

a•plomb

(əˈplɒm, əˈplʌm)

n.

imperturbable self-possession, poise, or assurance.

[1820–30; < French à plomb according to the plummet, i.e., straight up and down, vertical position]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

aplomb - great coolness and composure under strain; "keep your cool"

assuredness, sang-froid, cool, poise

calm, calmness, composure, equanimity - steadiness of mind under stress; "he accepted their problems with composure and she with equanimity"

aplomb

noun self-possession, confidence, stability, self-confidence, composure, poise, coolness, calmness, equanimity, balance, self-assurance, sang-froid, level-headedness The cast executed the production with professional aplomb.
confusion, embarrassment, chagrin, self-consciousness, awkwardness, discomfiture, discomposure

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

aplomb

noun

1. A firm belief in one's own powers:

assurance, confidence, self-assurance, self-confidence, self-possession.

2. A stable, calm state of the emotions:

balance, collectedness, composure, coolness, equanimity, imperturbability, imperturbableness, nonchalance, poise, sang-froid, self-possession, unflappability.

Slang: cool.

Translations

padronanza di s

aplomb

[əˈplɒm] N (liter) → aplomo m
with great aplomb → con gran aplomo or serenidad

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

aplomb

[əˈplɒm] n → sang-froid m, assurance f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

aplomb

n → Gelassenheit f; with aplomb → gelassen

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

aplomb

[əˈplɒm] n → disinvoltura
with great aplomb → senza scomporsi, con gran disinvoltura

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

As I walked by her side that May morning, I was only conscious of her voice and her exquisite girlhood; for though she talked with the APLOMB of a woman of the world, a passionate candour and simple ardour in her manner would have betrayed her, had her face not plainly declared her the incarnation of twenty.

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Welland and her sister-in-law were facing their semicircle of critics with the Mingottian APLOMB which old Catherine had inculcated in all her tribe, and that only May Welland betrayed, by a heightened colour

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"Notre Pere qui etes au ciel" went off like a shot; then followed an address to Marie "vierge celeste, reine des anges, maison d'or, tour d'ivoire!" and then an invocation to the saint of the day; and then down they all sat, and the solemn (?) rite was over; and I entered, flinging the door wide and striding in fast, as it was my wont to do now; for I had found that in entering with aplomb, and mounting the estrade with emphasis, consisted the grand secret of ensuring immediate silence.

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Always mature for her age, she had gained a certain aplomb in both carriage and conversation, which made her seem more of a woman of the world than she was, but her old petulance now and then showed itself, her strong will still held its own, and her native frankness was unspoiled by foreign polish.

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"Ay, but we don't smuggle in America," returned the colonel, with an aplomb that might have done credit to Vidocq himself; "in our republican country the laws are all in all."

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The terrified women uttered, the one a faint cry, by which D'Artagnan recognized a young woman, the other an imprecation, in which he recognized the vigor and aplomb that half a century bestows.

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Her present self-possession and aplomb struck Newman as really infernal, and he inclined to agree with Valentin de Bellegarde that the young lady was very remarkable.

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Captain Jim took a great fancy to Gog and Magog, who were presiding over the destinies of the hearth in the little house with as much dignity and aplomb as they had done at Patty's Place.

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Farrell duly shot Posh back in front with a cross-cum-shot which landed with aplomb in the far corner.

Posh joy for Fry

Yet on the whole she is pretty sophisticated in her approach to the facts of life and their function: she knows the pitfalls in her approach and often sidesteps them with aplomb and a refreshing frankness about her own motives in the enterprise of biographical detective work.

Secret Lives in Art

Rosenblat is a great reader who captures all the special moments with ease and aplomb. She is Jo and of course all the other characters, from the oily attorney Nate Nathaniel to the French countess.

Social Crimes & Trick of the Eye

He is the best thing in this tale of a secret agent and plays the title role with aplomb. However, he's up against a dire script, trashy camera work and props that will make you weep.

Video : DVD Recommendations.