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Recent Examples of rictus
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
The entire final sequence, which sees Carter, with a rictus grin, slaughtering his wife in the kitchen, envisions the self-destruction of the nuclear family.
—Beatrice Loayza, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2025
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
The entire final sequence, which sees Carter, with a rictus grin, slaughtering his wife in the kitchen, envisions the self-destruction of the nuclear family.
—Beatrice Loayza, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rictus
Noun
-
And Nix, often with a smirk, will return the volley.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
30 Jan. 2026
-
The bus drivers do nothing to enforce the rules, and we seniors are left trudging down the bus aisle while the people in the seats smirk, look at their phones and talk to each other.—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
20 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Traffic snarls clearing Northbound Interstate 75 traffic was closed near downtown Cincinnati, Cincinnati police said Tuesday afternoon.—
Matthew Cupelli,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
10 Feb. 2026
-
The one-time Sacramento State All-American linebacker was stuck in the snarl of rush-hour traffic in Southern California, his car inching along while his heart and mind were racing.—
Joe Davidson,
Sacbee.com,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Sure, the scatalogical title and prurient lyrics reflected the band's age — Armstrong was fresh out of his teens at the time — but its punk sneer was rooted in sophisticated songcraft.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Feb. 2026
-
The obsequiousness, the sneers, the boasting, the vacant generalities, and the hand-waving bespeak fear of departing from the Trumpian orthodoxy of the moment.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The veteran center has been known to whip a towel at the bench or flip a middle finger at an opponent or growl at his teammates to go away during walk-off interviews.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Jan. 2026
-
The rumble and growl of the other racers’ engines was growing louder by the minute.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
10 Dec. 2025
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
Cite this Entry
“Rictus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rictus. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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