Posturing Is Posture With Nothing Behind It
Posture is how you hold your body. As a verb it means to behave in a way meant to impress, which is rarely a compliment.
Posture is the position in which you hold your body, and by extension the stance an organisation takes. The verb has gone sour: *posturing* means adopting an attitude for effect, and it always implies there is nothing behind the display.
- How the body is held. *Good posture.*
- An official stance. *The country's defence posture.*
- To behave for effect. *Political posturing.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | posture | Upright posture. |
| Plural | postures | Yoga postures. |
| Verb | posture | They posture for the cameras. |
| Noun | posturing | Empty posturing. |
| Related | stance | A defensive stance. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Sitting all day is hard on your posture.The physical sense.
- It was posturing rather than policy.Display without substance.
- The firm changed its posture on pricing.Corporate stance.
Posture words
- Stance — a way of standing, or a position taken
- Bearing — how someone carries themselves generally
- Slouch — a loose, drooping posture
- Ergonomics — designing work to fit the body
- Alignment — how the parts of the body sit relative to each other
From French *posture*, from Italian *postura*, from Latin *positura*, position, from *ponere*, to place — the same root as *position*, *compose* and *deposit*.
Posture or stance?
Posture is how the body is held generally. Stance is a specific position taken for an action, or a position taken in an argument.
Is *posturing* ever neutral?
Rarely. In diplomacy and animal behaviour it can be descriptive, but in everyday use it means putting on a show.