visage

noun

vis·​age ˈvi-zij How to pronounce visage (audio)
1
: the face, countenance, or appearance of a person or sometimes an animal
2
: aspect, appearance
the grimy visage of a mining town

Did you know?

In “Ozymandias,” Percy Bysshe Shelley’s famous poem, a traveller tells of a colossal statue’s “shattered visage” lying half sunk in desert sands, going on to describe its “frown / And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command…” Now, Shelley could have simply chosen face over the more highfalutin synonym visage, but not only would face shatter the sonnet’s iambic pentameter, but a formal-sounding word is sometimes preferable to a basic one for all kinds of reasons, including sound, tone, or simply the cut of its jib. Physiognomy, for instance, refers to facial features thought to reveal qualities of temperament or character, as when Emily Brontë writes in Wuthering Heights, “I thought I could detect in his physiognomy a mind owning better qualities than his father ever possessed.” Countenance, meanwhile, is often used to refer to the face as an indication of mood or emotion, as in Bram Stoker’s Dracula: “Mina struggled hard to keep her brave countenance.” As all of these quotes attest, when it comes to wordsmithery, sometimes you’ve just got to vamp.

Examples of visage in a Sentence

an old man with a noticeably happy visage visitors to the mountain range had long noted that the natural rock formation bore a striking resemblance to the visage of a man
Recent Examples on the Web The cover, which features a row of faces of global leaders, places Kamala Harris’s visage in the center. Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 11 Oct. 2024 The visage gave way to an equally unsettling vinyl smock with a cartoonish witch’s body in striped stockings and pointy boots. René Guzman, San Antonio Express-News, 2 Oct. 2024 Granted, the brown strap was quite a divergence from the flashy red strap on the Piaget, but the Vacheron spoke with even greater confidence from behind its reserved, perfectly executed visage. Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 29 Sep. 2024 Lindsay Lohan Celebrates 38th Birthday with Smiling Selfie: ‘Grateful for Every Moment’ 47 of 48 Naomi Watts Wonder who's responsible for that glowing, makeup-free visage? Kaitlyn Frey, Peoplemag, 17 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for visage 

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

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from vis face, from Latin visus sight, from vidēre to see — more at wit

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of visage was in the 14th century

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Dictionary Entries Near visage

Cite this Entry

“Visage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/visage. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

visage

noun
vis·​age ˈviz-ij How to pronounce visage (audio)
1
: the face
also : an expression of the face
2
: the outward appearance of a person, animal, or thing
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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