RICTUS Synonyms: 28 Similar and Opposite Words

rictus

noun

Definition of rictus

as in smirk

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of rictus One of the boys had turned back to the crowd, face skin twisted around wild eyes, red cheeks about to rip apart from the rictus. — Jeff Spry, Space.com, 18 May 2026 Its sheer loveliness almost completely undermines the menace of that rictus on the cover. — Sasha Geffen, Pitchfork, 21 Jan. 2026 Unlike Cesar Romero’s Joker from the child-friendly TV Batman, cheery and inane, Jack Nicholson’s version is fully monstrous—sneering and sadistic, his dead eyes obscene next to his rictus grin. — The Atlantic Culture Desk, The Atlantic, 29 Oct. 2025 There’s even the demand for NDAs and a magazine photoshoot at the enormous house, with everyone smiling their rictus grins. — Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 22 May 2025 Oldman’s features gradually freeze into a rictus of despair, and the lights go out. — Houman Barekat, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025 The Mirror and the Light opens with that profoundly disturbing execution, Foy a pale rictus of fear and vulnerability as she is led to the block, where she is blindfolded and positioned before the executioner’s sword. — Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 20 Mar. 2025 With their teeth bared in a frozen rictus grin, this couple appears to be hiding a darkness which we are left only to guess at. — Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, 15 Mar. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rictus

Noun

And indeed Verity — directed with straightforward competence and a faint wry smirk by Michael Showalter and adapted by screenwriter Nick Antosca (Apple TV’s Cape Fear series) — is a mild lark for its first hour.

— Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2026
Orion gave a smirk and thumbs up to the camera while Keats made a funny face and stuck his tongue out.

— Kayla Grant, PEOPLE, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of smirk

Noun

His Lamb goes from a brash Yorkshire showman to a callous profiteer of human vice and misery, his cheeky smile becoming a vicious snarl.

— Joe Reid, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2026
This year’s Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer with closures, travel snarls and record gas prices in California.

— Vince Basada, Sacbee.com, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of snarl

Noun

Sandoval, in comparison, sneers and simpers to no success whatsoever; his bad behavior, on and off The Traitors, yields nothing.

— Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 20 Feb. 2025
Today’s announcement marks the emergence of a new GE, a high-tech industrial GE — simper, stronger, a more focused company at the core.

— Jon Chesto, BostonGlobe.com, 26 June 2018

Definition of simper

Browse Nearby Words

ricochets

rictus

rictuses

See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

Style

“Rictus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rictus. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of rictus

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

discreet

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes