Unflappable

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ʌnˈflæpəbəl/

Definitions

1. Remaining calm and composed in stressful or difficult situations, showing no signs of being upset or losing control
2. Maintaining a steady demeanor and composure under pressure, demonstrating an ability to stay cool-headed and unaffected by challenges or disturbances
3. Exhibiting remarkable calmness in the face of adversity, displaying a disposition that is unshaken by stress or chaos

Etymology: "Unflappable" is built from three English parts: the prefix "un-", meaning "not," the verb "flap" in its old sense of "to upset or stir," and the suffix "-able," which signals the capacity to be something. Put together, it describes someone who cannot be thrown off balance, an idea that is literal in its own way: the word pictures a person who cannot be flapped. The verb "flap" has a long pedigree. Its roots reach back to a Proto-Indo-European base, but the sense that matters here is the English one of agitating or disturbing, a meaning it carried well before the modern sense of a flapping motion. The suffix "-able" has a longer journey, passing from Latin "-bilis" through Old French into English, and it has been a productive way to coin adjectives ever since. Because "un-" joins easily to adjectives built this way, "unflappable" follows a familiar pattern in English. The word is a plain compound of existing parts rather than a borrowing, so its history lies mainly in the meanings of those parts.

Synonyms: calm, composed, collected, cool, serene

Antonyms: nervous, agitated, anxious, unstable, excitable