straight face

noun

Updated on: 15 Apr 2018

Definition of straight face

: a face giving no evidence of emotion and especially of merriment

lied with a straight face

—

straight-faced

play \ˈstrāt-ˈfāst\ adjective

—

straight-facedly

play \ˈstrāt-ˈfā-səd-lē, -ˈfāst-lē\ adverb

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Examples of straight face in a Sentence

She lied with a straight face.
The students quickly put on straight faces as the teacher walked into the room.

Recent Examples of straight face from the Web

No company’s main source of profit can be described with a straight face as a negative externality.

— alex shephard, The New Republic, "Facebook’s Innocence Project," 10 Apr. 2018
When the broadcast zoomed in on Draymond Green, the Warriors star couldn’t keep a straight face.

— andrew joseph, For The Win, "Draymond Green started laughing during Fergie's bizarre national anthem performance," 18 Feb. 2018
The hotel tax allows officials to say, with a straight face, that mostly nonresidents — hotel visitors to Amarillo and hotel owners — pay the taxes for financing this stadium over the long run.

— michael taylor, San Antonio Express-News, "Texas taxpayers should be wary of Amarillo’s $45.5 million baseball stadium deal," 12 Feb. 2018
Nope — two New York Giants football players, Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr., getting seriously goofy (though with admirably straight faces) in an ad for the National Football League.

— james hebert, sandiegouniontribune.com, "As it hits the stage again, 'Dirty Dancing' still having the time of our lives," 6 Feb. 2018
Thursday, Ryan, with a straight face, claimed the controversial Nunes memo simply represented legitimate Congressional oversight and not an attempt to discredit the FBI and Mueller Russian investigation.

— jeff darcy, cleveland.com, "Nunes Memo is a not-so-super bowl of partisan botulism: Darcy cartoon," 4 Feb. 2018
Could literally any other human in the world get away with wearing a helmet-sized beanie and magical gloves to work with a straight face?

— megan gustashaw, GQ, "Tom Brady's Beanie Is Unbelievably Large," 1 Feb. 2018
On Thursday, while speaking to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) once again showed off one of his greatest talents: the ability to say something remarkably daffy with a straight face.

— michael arceneaux, Essence.com, "There's Only One Party To Blame If A Government Shutdown Occurs — And It's Not The Democrats," 19 Jan. 2018
Was the piece about the negative health effects of climate change in Alaska (Jan. 9) written with a straight face?

— Anchorage Daily News, "Readers write: Letters to the editor, January 15, 2018," 15 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'straight face.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.