straight-faced

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 straight-faced But the rest of the movie is straight-faced, as though its story of two reckless sociopaths vying to destroy the world in their respective modes weren’t appallingly depressing. Alison Willmore, Vulture, 7 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for straight-faced
Adjective
  • Discerning viewers flock to the Greek filmmaker’s parables about family dynamics and power struggles to marinate in his deadpan humor, his aloof and somewhat anthropological look at human behavior, and the sight of Emma Stone inevitably doing something odd.
    David Fear, Rolling Stone, 23 Oct. 2025
  • In times of increasing cynicism and apathy in the zeitgeist, this phantasm extravaganza — at once humorously deadpan in its playful tableaus and poignantly sincere at its emotional core — feels like a breath of fresh air.
    Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Bale ran to the corner of the pitch, and, having been an expressionless bystander for much of the evening, shouted in ecstasy.
    Hua Hsu, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2022
  • The company poured $10 billion into its Reality Labs division last year, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was criticized last week after posting a selfie that showed an expressionless version of his avatar in front of the Eiffel Tower.
    Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 30 Aug. 2022
Adjective
  • Street Kings is bland, forgettable pulp — Reeves doesn’t enliven it, getting buried along with the rest of a fine ensemble that includes Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, and a pre-Captain America Chris Evans.
    Tim Grierson, Vulture, 18 Oct. 2025
  • Companies such as OpenAI fine-tune the models behind modern chatbots not just to imitate existing writing, but to use the particularly bland and cheerful style that any chatbot user recognizes.
    Vauhini Vara, The Atlantic, 16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • All of us piled into one wooden shack that was built as an outpost.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025
  • The Historic Delaware Hotel With its antique furnishings, wooden floors, and charming quirks, the colorful Historic Delaware Hotel is brimming with old-world character that feels evocative of Leadville’s silver boom days.
    Karthika Gupta, Travel + Leisure, 27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The comment is a nod to the stoic—or perhaps desensitized—demeanor of younger travelers in the face of stressors that rattle many.
    Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
  • Successful in disputing Dunbar’s religious exception status are true and deep, Disney’s 20th TV Friday were almost stoic in their victory.
    Dominic Patten, Deadline, 17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Curiously, given that Casey began as a choreographer, the lackluster dance is energetic but inexpressive.
    David Benedict, Variety, 24 June 2025
  • Here again is that inexpressive mode that Enelow identified in film performance, hiding a dark pool beneath; what can’t be acknowledged isn’t just an individual’s pain but the larger suffering that undergirds it.
    Lidija Haas, Harper's Magazine, 3 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • In warm weather, rent a paddleboard from the hotel and glide across Lake Estes, or warm up around the fire pits or in the dry sauna.
    Sophie Friedman, AFAR Media, 22 Oct. 2025
  • Anglers who want to keep their catch fresh on a long drive home are better served to cover fish in a dry livewell with ice.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Though deBessonet’s production strips away a lot of the bunting, Ragtime has a stolid and demonstrative core and an educational tone worthy of EPCOT.
    Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2025
  • But the drama can be very stolid, borderline dull at times.
    Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 24 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Straight-faced.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straight-faced. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

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