aplomb

Etymology

Borrowed from French aplomb.

noun

1. Self-confidence; poise; composure.
   His nonchalance and aplomb during hard times have always been his best character trait.
   We can handle functions of a few variables with some aplomb and view sets of quantities totalling IO6 or IO7 with sangfroid. 1961, Richard Bellman, Adaptive Control Processes: A Guided Tour, Princeton University Press, page 197
   They have a seven-year-old son named Timothy, never called Timmy or Tim; a little scrawny guy who wears thick glasses already, and who tucks his striped T-shirts into his pants with the aplomb of a silver-templed CEO. 2000, Elizabeth Berg, Range of Motion
   Fly-half Jonny Wilkinson put his below-par performance against Argentina behind him with a fine first-half showing, slotting four kicks from six and controlling his back-line with aplomb, while England's three-quarters were brimming with life and clinical with their execution. September 24, 2011, Ben Dirs, “Rugby World Cup 2011: England 67-3 Romania”, in BBC Sport
   Installing lift shafts in station buildings which were not originally designed to accommodate them can be a fraught exercise, but a necessary one if the legitimate aspiration of the travelling public for step-free access is to be achieved. At Sudbury Hill, on London Underground's Piccadilly Line extension out to the north-western suburbs, Transport for London has achieved this with aplomb. December 14 2022, Robin Leleux, “A royal occasion as heritage projects honoured: Sudbury Hill”, in RAIL, number 972, page 57
   But Cruise remains the main attraction. He carries the film with aplomb and invests the action with enough familiarity from the previous films that fans will be more than happy. July 5 2023, Murtada Elfadl, “Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One review: Tom Cruise runs, jumps, and delivers again”, in AV Club
2. (ballet) The apparent elegance and precision exhibited by a confident, accomplished dancer.
3. The perpendicular; perpendicularity.