STRAIGHT-FACED Synonyms: 86 Similar and Opposite Words

straight-faced

adjective

as in deadpan

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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 The clip began with a makeup-free Giudice sitting in the glam chair and gazing straight-faced into the camera while Reyna sized up the shot. — Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 21 Sep. 2026 Mamdani emerged from this shroud of mystery triumphant, posting a photograph on X of himself, firmly straight-faced, standing alongside the grinning President. — Molly Fischer, New Yorker, 5 Mar. 2026 The bill is presented, straight-faced, as securing election integrity. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 21 Feb. 2026 To which Liu responded, straight-faced and finally dead serious. — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 20 Feb. 2026 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

But acts like this work best when there’s a discernable back-and-forth—think Starlito’s deadpan baritone next to Don Trip’s sandpaper yawp, or Method Man’s sultry bruiser clearing the way for Redman’s scrappy smart-ass routine.

— Dylan Green, Pitchfork, 29 Oct. 2026
Serially deadpan comedian-filmmaker Fielder, meanwhile, has previously exerted pop-cultural thrall as the figurehead of HBO’s The Rehearsal and Comedy Central’s Nathan for You.

— Chris Lee, Vulture, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of deadpan

Adjective

The 47-year-old, wearing a blue suit and blue tie, was expressionless as the charges against him were described.

— ABC News, ABC News, 19 May 2026
The routine calls for this chic, almost expressionless vibe — very different from a typical K-pop performance.

— Billboard Korea, Billboard, 26 Nov. 2025

Definition of expressionless

Adjective

However, this new research suggests that this slightly bland and uniform appearance is because no white dwarf is close enough for Earthbound astronomers to see their true colors.

— Robert Lea, Space.com, 15 Oct. 2026
The high-wire act that followed—in which performers had to make these bland conceits into something funny without, ostensibly, preparing any jokes in advance—introduced a tension that made sketch shows feel sedate and uneven by comparison.

— Dan Brooks, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of bland

Adjective

Some staircase windows were replaced with movable aluminum composite panels or wooden boards for workers' convenience, allowing smoke to infiltrate escape routes.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 30 Oct. 2026
In a back kitchen of a bagel shop on the outskirts of Toronto, Beth George is standing over a long wooden table assessing her materials with surgical precision.

— HubSpot, HubSpot, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of wooden

Adjective

John McKinney, 58, who leapfrogged to a second-place finish in the primaries amid a stoic, law-and-order campaign that sometimes slipped into Spencer Pratt-style dystopian imagery.

— Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
Filson Rugged Twill Original Briefcase Not everyone wants to resemble Don Draper at the office—some men prefer the stoic, rugged vibe.

— Genevieve Cepeda, InStyle, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of stoic

Adjective

It’s reflected in the visuals of the series, which are as unimaginative as the AI actor renders are dead and inexpressive even before they’re shot through with Tokugawa-era arrows.

— Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 16 Oct. 2026
That virtue is undermined here by leads with minimal chemistry, one of them inexpressive and the other archly theatrical, by design if not to rewarding effect.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 21 May 2026

Definition of inexpressive

Adjective

The trombonist Cutler is played by Terence Archie as stolid, unassuming and quietly in control.

— Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 13 Oct. 2026
Meanwhile, Leigh—intellectual, magnetic, and capricious—went to finishing school before marrying a stolid, stable lawyer named Herbert Leigh Holman in 1932.

— Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 21 Sep. 2026