presence of mind

Definition

Focused alertness, good sense, quick-thinking resourcefulness, or stability of feeling and thought, especially in spite of circumstances which are distracting, stressful, or otherwise challenging.

Etymology

PIE word *h₁ésmi Calque of Latin praesentia animī, from praesentia (“state of being present, presence”) + animī (the genitive singular of animus (“intellect, mind”)).

Example Sentences

• "[A]s you are to hear the moſt unexpected and ſurprizing thing that perhaps ever befel any Family in the VVorld, I beg you to promiſe me you vvill receive it vvith Compoſure and a Preſence of Mind ſuitable to a Man of Senſe."
• "[T]his magnificent palace would have infallibly been burnt down to the ground, if, by a presence of mind unusual to me, I had not suddenly thought of an expedient."
• "[S]he snatched a pistol from the wall, on which some fire-arms hung, and while she screamed to her father to awake, had the presence of mind to present it at the intruder."