unsmiling
adjective
un·smil·ing
ˌən-ˈsmī-liŋ 
: not smiling or tending to smile : marked by a somber or serious expression or attitude
a stern, unsmiling teacher
unsmilingly
adverb
His views were unsmilingly stated, implacably held, and amenable to no reasonable argument.
—
Simon Winchester
Simon Winchester
Synonyms
Examples of unsmiling in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
She’s clipped, judgmental and unsmiling—there hasn’t been a figure of such puritanical disapproval since Amy Adams in The Master.
—Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 4 Apr. 2024
Belichick, known for his rumpled appearance, unsmiling countenance and monotone voice, was celebrated as savant, savior and sage.
—Bill Pennington, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2024
Other people worry that political tensions and anxiety over such things as the death of democracy and the climate crisis have left us collectively unsmiling—that now the only thing people are likely to talk about at a water cooler is cooler water.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2023
But courage has many faces, and a revolution takes all sorts — and one made up only of unsmiling soldiers is likely to lead only to war.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 28 Sep. 2023
As the crowd erupts, an unsmiling Johnson greets his former foe.
—Nikki Dobrin, Peoplemag, 16 Sep. 2023
Equally perfunctory is a framing device set in January 1974, as unsmiling members of the Agranat Commission grill Meir about the intelligence failures that precipitated the surprise Yom Kippur attack months earlier.
—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2023
No sooner did an unsmiling Althea drive a ball into the net in the first game of her first match than many among the thousands packed into the stands erupt into cheers, just as Clifford Webb had predicted.
—Sally H. Jacobs, Town & Country, 15 Aug. 2023
The crowd laps it up, but at least one unsmiling audience member, Ben (Justin H. Min), bites his tongue — for now, anyway.
—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2023
Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 4 Apr. 2024
Belichick, known for his rumpled appearance, unsmiling countenance and monotone voice, was celebrated as savant, savior and sage.
—Bill Pennington, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2024
Other people worry that political tensions and anxiety over such things as the death of democracy and the climate crisis have left us collectively unsmiling—that now the only thing people are likely to talk about at a water cooler is cooler water.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2023
But courage has many faces, and a revolution takes all sorts — and one made up only of unsmiling soldiers is likely to lead only to war.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 28 Sep. 2023
As the crowd erupts, an unsmiling Johnson greets his former foe.
—Nikki Dobrin, Peoplemag, 16 Sep. 2023
Equally perfunctory is a framing device set in January 1974, as unsmiling members of the Agranat Commission grill Meir about the intelligence failures that precipitated the surprise Yom Kippur attack months earlier.
—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2023
No sooner did an unsmiling Althea drive a ball into the net in the first game of her first match than many among the thousands packed into the stands erupt into cheers, just as Clifford Webb had predicted.
—Sally H. Jacobs, Town & Country, 15 Aug. 2023
The crowd laps it up, but at least one unsmiling audience member, Ben (Justin H. Min), bites his tongue — for now, anyway.
—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unsmiling.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near unsmiling
Cite this Entry
“Unsmiling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unsmiling. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
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