as in features
formal
the appearance of a person's face; a person's facial features
He and his son have the same distinctive physiognomy.
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Recent Examples of physiognomy
Such methods are considered unreliable, in particular as they are often based on evidence sets from European children that don’t match the physiognomies of young people from other place in the world.
—
Frey Lindsay,
Forbes.com,
22 July 2025
Thus, the contribution of the men who formalized physiognomy (Johann Lavater) and phrenology (Franz Josef Gall) was systematizing a broader humoral worldview about the connection between body and character, and giving it the prestige of modern science.
—
Literary Hub,
9 June 2025
Differences between Genovese and Costello come down to their marriages (the former to Kathrine Narducci’s Anna, the latter to Debra Messing’s Bobbie) and the physiognomy of make-up for the men’s superficial contrasts.
—
Armond White,
National Review,
21 Mar. 2025
Guston’s first comic for The Junior Times, a sparse strip drawn at age 12, introduced Little Snowball, a Black youth bearing exaggerated racial physiognomy and dialect.
—
Walker Mimms,
New York Times,
4 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for physiognomy
Frey Lindsay,
Forbes.com,
22 July 2025
Thus, the contribution of the men who formalized physiognomy (Johann Lavater) and phrenology (Franz Josef Gall) was systematizing a broader humoral worldview about the connection between body and character, and giving it the prestige of modern science.
—
Literary Hub,
9 June 2025
Differences between Genovese and Costello come down to their marriages (the former to Kathrine Narducci’s Anna, the latter to Debra Messing’s Bobbie) and the physiognomy of make-up for the men’s superficial contrasts.
—
Armond White,
National Review,
21 Mar. 2025
Guston’s first comic for The Junior Times, a sparse strip drawn at age 12, introduced Little Snowball, a Black youth bearing exaggerated racial physiognomy and dialect.
—
Walker Mimms,
New York Times,
4 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for physiognomy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for physiognomy
Noun
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The mesh upper features perforated pockets that allow air to get into the shoe to prevent your feet from overheating no matter what the weather outside is looking like.
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Immediate steps were taken to strengthen access controls for customer profile data, and additional security features will be added in the future.
Noun
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As officers moved inside, the suspect ran out the back of the building, where other officers stationed along a perimeter took the person into custody, police said.
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Sees another email that says that the person who's going to shut it down is having extramarital affair.
Noun
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Anytime a politician is commanding money, regardless of the purpose, there is at least the appearance that the giver — Meta, Google, Blue Shield for example — may expect something in return.
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Uruguay, a traditional South American competitor that entered the World Cup ranked in the international top 20, would be the heavy favorite over Cape Verde, an African island nation with fewer than half a million citizens that was also making its first-ever appearance in the World Cup.
Cite this Entry
“Physiognomy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/physiognomy. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
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