• 2-minute read
• 18th January 2016

Word Choice: Comprise vs. Compose

We venture again into ambiguous territory, this time to take a look at the words ‘comprise’ and ‘compose’.

‘Comprise’ is a term so commonly misused that even dedicated pedants have pretty much given up on correcting people these days. Nevertheless, in academic writing it’s worth making the effort to get these things right.

Comprise (To Contain or Consist Of)

The word ‘comprise’ is a verb meaning ‘to be composed of or contain’. It’s most useful when we want to describe a whole that includes several parts. As such, we might say:

The dinner comprised a starter, main course and dessert.

The UK comprises four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The important thing is that the ‘whole’ (e.g. dinner/the UK) typically comes before the constituent parts (e.g. courses/countries) in sentences that include ‘comprise’. It would also be incorrect to say that the dinner was ‘comprised of’ these courses or that the UK was ‘comprised of’ four countries.

Compose (To Make Up)

Also a verb, ‘compose’ means ‘make up the constituent parts of’ or to ‘put together’. Its primary use in this sense is to describe something that is made up of various parts:

The starter, main course and dessert composed dinner.

Moreover, unlike with ‘comprise’, you can say ‘composed of’:

The UK is composed of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

‘Compose’ can also mean ‘create or arrange artistically’ (e.g. ‘the overture was composed by Mozart’) or ‘make oneself tranquil’ (e.g. ‘I started to panic, but then I composed myself’).

Comprise or Compose?

The most common mistake people make when using ‘comprise’ is to write ‘comprised of’ as if it means the same as ‘composed of’. However, this is not how ‘comprise’ works. Try to keep the following in mind:

The whole comprises the parts; the parts compose the whole.

This phrase shows that ‘comprise’ is used when describing a whole made up of various components, while ‘compose’ is used when describing the parts which together make up a whole.

Another thing to keep in mind is that ‘comprised of’ is rarely (if ever) correct. If you find yourself writing ‘comprised of’, you probably mean ‘composed of’.