The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Poise \Poise\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Poised, ; p. pr. & vb. n.
   Poising.] [OE. poisen, peisen, OF. & F. peser, to weigh,
   balance, OF. il peise, il poise, he weighs, F. il p[`e]se,
   fr. L. pensare, v. intens. fr. pendere to weigh. See Poise,
   n., and cf. Pensive.] [Formerly written also peise.]
   1. To balance; to make of equal weight; as, to poise the
      scales of a balance.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To hold or place in equilibrium or equiponderance.
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            Nor yet was earth suspended in the sky;
            Nor poised, did on her own foundation lie. --Dryden.
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   3. To counterpoise; to counterbalance.
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            One scale of reason to poise another of sensuality.
                                                  --Shak.
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            To poise with solid sense a sprightly wit. --Dryden.
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   4. To ascertain, as by the balance; to weigh.
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            He can not sincerely consider the strength, poise
            the weight, and discern the evidence. --South.
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   5. To weigh (down); to oppress. [Obs.]
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            Lest leaden slumber peise me down to-morrow. --Shak.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

balanced \bal"anced\ adj.
   being in a state of proper balance or equilibrium; --
   opposite of unbalanced. the carefully balanced seesaw a
   properly balanced symphony orchestra a balanced assessment of
   intellectual and cultural history a balanced blend of
   whiskeys the educated man shows a balanced development of all
   his powers [Narrower terms: counterbalanced,
   counter-balanced, counterpoised; well-balanced; poised]
   [Related terms: stable --- (maintaining equilibrium)]
   [WordNet 1.5]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

poised
    adj 1: marked by balance or equilibrium and readiness for
           action; "a gull in poised flight"; "George's poised
           hammer"
    2: in full control of your faculties; "the witness remained
       collected throughout the cross-examination"; "perfectly
       poised and sure of himself"; "more self-contained and more
       dependable than many of the early frontiersmen"; "strong and
       self-possessed in the face of trouble" [syn: collected,
       equanimous, poised, self-collected, self-contained,
       self-possessed]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

70 Moby Thesaurus words for "poised":
   apoise, arrogant, assured, balanced, calm, cocksure, collected,
   composed, confident, controlled, convinced, cool, decided,
   determined, dignified, easy, easygoing, equanimous, equibalanced,
   equilibrious, equiponderant, equiponderous, hovering, hubristic,
   imperturbable, levelheaded, overconfident, oversure, overweening,
   persuaded, placid, pompous, positive, possessed, prepared, proud,
   ready, reassured, recollected, reserved, secure, sedate,
   self-assured, self-confident, self-controlled, self-important,
   self-possessed, self-reliant, self-restrained, serene, staid, sure,
   suspended, symmetric, teetering, together, tottering, tranquil,
   trembling, unafraid, undoubting, unfaltering, unflappable,
   unhesitating, unruffled, unwavering, waiting, wavering,
   well-balanced, wobbling