blackface

noun

black·​face ˈblak-ˌfās 

often attributive

1

: 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.

2

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

Examples of blackface in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Patterson condemned the use of blackface. —Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 25 Sep. 2025

Kimmel did previously appear on television in blackface on numerous occasions, impersonating basketball player Karl Malone. —Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Sep. 2025

Kimmel apologized for using blackface in a sketch in 2020. —Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025

The works that were being presented onstage, both blackface and ballet, were addressing themes that interpenetrated everyday life. —Chava Pearl Lansky, JSTOR Daily, 30 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1847, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing blackface

• digital blackface

Rhymes for blackface

• abase
• airspace
• apace
• backspace
• biface
• birthplace
• boldface
• bookcase
• braincase
• briefcase
• carcase
• crankcase