Word Confusion: Compose versus Comprise

Revised as of
30 June 2023

Admittedly, this is one of those word confusions, compose versus comprise, that one of its words is not used often. However, I do frequently find authors using compose when comprise would be the appropriate choice.

The distinction is in the parts. Compose uses parts to make a whole while comprise is a whole that includes parts.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Compose	Comprise
Composing Music by Hand by Mohamed Hassan is in the public domain, via PxHere.	A Christmas Heart by GDJ is in the public domain, via Pixabay. — This heart is comprised of Christmas icons.
Part of Grammar:
Verb, intransitive & transitive Third person present verb: composes Past tense or past participle: composed Present participle: composing	Verb, intransitive & transitive Third person present verb: comprises Past tense or past participle: comprised Present participle: comprising
Verb, intransitive: To engage in composition, especially musical composition To enter into composition Fall into an arrangement Verb, transitive: Write or create a work of art, especially music or poetry Write or phrase a letter or piece of writing with care and thought Form a whole by ordering or arranging the parts, especially in an artistic way Order or arrange parts to form a whole, especially in an artistic way Made up of or constitute (of elements) Be a specified number or amount of a whole Calm or settle yourself, your features, your thoughts [Archaic] Settle a dispute Prepare a text for printing by manually, mechanically, or electronically setting up the letters and other characters in the order to be printed Setting up the letters and characters to print something	Comprise of is only used in the passive sense with some form of to be To include or contain To form or constitute Consist of To be composed of Be made up of
Examples:
Verb, intransitive: The first sentence is so hard to compose. I grant you, it is a scene that composes well. Verb, transitive: The system is composed of a group of machines. Beethoven composed music. Water is composed of two molecules of hydrogen and one of oxygen. Compose yourself before he sees how angry you are! Technically, you could consider yourself composing when you have the computer send a file to the printer.	The U.S. comprises 50 states. Documents are comprised of words, although they are composed by people. Who knew?? The Soviet Union comprised several socialist republics. The advisory board comprises six members. Seminars and lectures comprised the day’s activities.
Derivatives:
Adjective: composable, composed, uncomposable Adverb: composedly Noun: composer, composing	Adjective: comprisable Noun: comprisal, comprising
History of the Word:
Late Middle English — in the general sense of put together, construct — from the Old French composer from the Latin componere, but influenced by the Latin compositus, which means composed and the Old French poser meaning to place.	Late Middle English from the French comprised and the feminine past participle of comprendre from the Old French comprehender.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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Resources for Compose versus Comprise

Apple Dictionary.com

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Pinterest Photo Credits:

Baked Stargazy Pie by Krista was uploaded by Diádoco and is under the CC BY 2.0 license and Two Eggs is ZabMilenko’s own work under the CC BY 3.0 license; both are via Wikimedia Commons. Bowl of Sardines is in the public domain, via PxFuel, and Flour in a Jar is under the CC 1.0 license, via VisualHunt. The backgrounds have been removed from all images in Photoshop.