blackface

noun

black·face ˈblak-ˌfās

often attributive

: dark makeup worn to mimic the appearance of a Black person and especially to mock or ridicule Black people

Note: The wearing of blackface by white performers was, from the early 19th through the mid-20th centuries, a prominent feature of minstrel shows (see minstrel sense 3a) and similar forms of entertainment featuring exaggerated and inaccurate caricatures of Black people. The use of blackface is considered deeply offensive.

plural blackfaces : a performer wearing blackface : minstrel sense 3a

Examples of blackface in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Billy Dee Williams believes actors should be able to perform in blackface. —

Michaela Zee, Variety, 9 Apr. 2024 The legendary actor, 87, made his remarks on the Club Random with Bill Maher podcast while discussing the late English actor Laurence Olivier, who appeared in the 1965 film version of Othello in blackface. —

Charmaine Patterson, Peoplemag, 9 Apr. 2024 In the 1965 film, Olivier wore blackface to play the film’s titular character. —

Zoe G Phillips, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Apr. 2024 The spat occurred after Aquaria initially responded to Pearl's apology post, addressing the image of a drag character that drew accusations of blackface from both fans and fellow show alums like Aquaria's season 10 sister The Vixen. —

Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 11 Aug. 2023 One exemplifies post-racial America—a Black professor, his white wife, and their biracial daughter—and the other is a troupe of caricatures in blackface. —

Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2024 Some of his older videos include racist imagery like blackface that later resurfaced and that Dawson apologized for, something that mainstream comedians like Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon have done as well. —

Kalhan Rosenblatt, NBC News, 14 Dec. 2023 Others criticized the contestant for needing to speak with a DEI consultant to understand that defending blackface is racist. —

Elizabeth Wagmeister, Variety, 14 Mar. 2023 Shown on two back-to-back screens in a capacious room, the work finds McQueen training his artistic vision on the history of blackface in Hollywood. —

Degen Pener, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'blackface.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.