- bearing
- bearing n Bearing, deportment, demeanor, mien, port, presence are comparable when they denote the way in which or the quality by which a person outwardly manifests his personality and breeding.Bearing is the most general of these words; it may imply reference to a person's mental attitude to others, his conduct in society, or his characteristic posture or way of holding himself{
if 'twere so, she could not sway her house, command her followers . . . with such a smooth, discreet and stable bearing— Shak.
}{"You should have seen him as a young man," she cried . . . drawing herself up to imitate her husband's once handsome bearing— D. H. Lawrence
}Deportment applies especially to a person's actions in their relations to the external, often conventional amenities of life; it so strongly suggests the influence of breeding or training that in current use it often means little more than behavior{lessons in deportment
}{naturalism is limited to neurasthenics; while Style means a British deportment—stiff upper lip, stiff limbs, and stiffer backbone—and an elocutionary Oxonian delivery— Bentley
}Demeanor applies rather to one's attitude as shown in one's behavior in the presence of others{his demeanor in public was still, silent, almost sepulchral. He looked habitually upon the ground when he conversed, was chary of speech, embarrassed— Motley
}{the child who has been treated wisely and kindly has a frank look in the eyes, and a fearless demeanor even with strangers— Russell
}Mien implies reference both to bearing and demeanor, often as suggestive of mood{for truth has such a face and such a mien, as to be loved needs only to be seen— Dryden
}{his mien of settled woe— Robertson Davies
}Port implies reference to physique and, especially through long association with such adjectives as majestic, regal, and proud, to a stately or dignified physique{pride in their port, defiance in their eye, I see the lords of humankind pass by— Goldsmith
}{people with a dignity of port, an amplitude of back, an emphasis of vocabulary— L. P. Smith
}Presence is more explicit than bearing; it denotes a person's bearing with reference to its power to impress his personality on others or to attract their attention, interest, or admiration{in mature life he became "a bulky person," with strong health and a commanding presence— Inge
}{a small, birdlike person, of no presence— Rose Macaulay
}{by a Port, one may understand them to indicate something unsympathetically impressive; whereas a Presence would seem to be a thing that directs the most affable appeal to our poor human weaknesses— Meredith
}
New Dictionary of Synonyms. 2014.
