ˌēkwəˈniməd.ē, ˌek-, -ətē, -i noun
( -es )
Etymology: Latin aequanimitas, from aequus equal + animus mind, soul (in the phrase aequo animo ferre to bear with equal mind) + -itas -ity — more at animate
1. obsolete : fairness or justness of judgment : equity
2. : evenness of mental disposition : emotional balance especially under stress
the inner life where the rational soul may cultivate equanimity in defiance of all outward circumstances — Reinhold Niebuhr
3. : right disposition : balance
rest restored the strained muscles to physical equanimity — Richard Jefferies
perfection … was nothing but perfect equanimity and harmony — John Galsworthy
Synonyms:
composure , phlegm , sangfroid : equanimity suggests a habitual or constitutional emotional balance or poise that is disturbed only by the most trying of circumstances
Stoicism teaches men … to accept with proud equanimity the misfortunes of life — W.R.Inge
even direct insult did not disturb his equanimity
composure usually suggests the achievement or the maintenance of self-possession or the appearance of self-possession by design or by effort of will, especially under trying circumstances
we have to call upon our whole people — men, women, and children alike — to stand up with composure and fortitude to the fire of the enemy — Sir Winston Churchill
in the composure of his manner, he was unaltered — Charles Dickens
phlegm signifies an imperturbability usually ascribable to a certain sluggishness or slowness of mental or emotional response
to react to terrible news with phlegm
Clare was always restless; she had none of Jane's phlegm and stolidity — Rose Macaulay
sangfroid usually suggests a constitutional coldness or a preternatural self-possession, especially under strain
in his feeling that most men were fools, in his sangfroid and his scorn of what “folks would say” — Van Wyck Brooks
Rachmaninoff, who in spite of his apparent sangfroid had a very sensitive nervous system — Charles O'Connell