✅ A miser is a stingy person, often one who lives in unnecessarily uncomfortable circumstances in order to save money (A millionaire lives in that run-down house, but he’s such a miser you’d never know he had money).
✅ A churl is also a stingy person, especially one who is mean or unpleasant (She’s such a churl that she makes other people pay for her even though she can afford to pay herself).
✅ Miser and churl both refer to someone who is more than just frugal; they spend as little money as possible and are often rude and unpleasant about it.
✅ Sometimes, miser and churl can refer to someone who is stingy with things other than money, such as love and affection (She was a miser with praise; He was a churl with his attention).
✅ Poised describes someone who is composed, dignified, and sure of themselves (I tried to make sure I looked poised as I walked into the cafeteria).
✅ Collected describes someone who is calm and self-controlled (The captain was collected even as the crew panicked).
✅ Poised and collected both describe someone who is controlling themselves, generally in a situation in which doing so is difficult.
✅ Collected suggests keeping it together in a difficult or stressful environment (I try to always seem collected, even when I don’t know what I’m doing), while poised suggests having a sense of dignity and self-assuredness (I admired his poised demeanor).
✅ Cool refers to someone who is calm and composed (She was surprised by how cool she was under pressure).
✅ Imperturbable refers to someone who isn’t easily excited, upset, or agitated (The imperturbable diplomat ignored the cruel comment).
✅ Cool also suggests being logical and thinking clearly under pressure (If I keep cool, I can come up with an escape plan).
✅ Imperturbable can suggest this but more often suggests being difficult to shock or surprise (No matter what prank we pulled, she was always imperturbable).