Usage of 'comprise' in a linguistic manner?

Question

> The small man did not hesitate. "I'm stealing.", he declared in a soft, simple voice, that did not **comprise** even the faintest tremble. Is this a good, nice-sounding way of describing a way of speaking, where one sounds confident in his statement, or is the term 'comprise' not to be used in a linguistic manner (in works of literature)?

Answer 1

To add onto that, "comprise" can mean both "be made up of" and "make up." So, just to complete Demilya's example: "The USA is comprised of 50 states" and "50 states comprise the USA."

But it is the first one that you'd be using in your sentence. To me, it...kind of works. It's not exactly wrong, but it is a little confusing, and also wordier than you need to get the idea across; and wordiness is usually one sign that your writing isn't as "nice sounding" as it could be.

What about "...in a soft, simple voice without even the faintest tremble?"

Answer 2

"Comprise" is a verb meaning "to consist of or be made up of". I believe in the way you are using the verb the sentence would not make sense. If you are trying to say he spoke in a way that did not reveal a tremble or nervousness, you want to use maybe "conceal", "suppress", or "strifle".

Example of comprise in a sentence

The United States is comprised of 50 states.