STRAIGHT-FACED Synonyms: 86 Similar and Opposite Words

straight-faced

adjective

as in deadpan

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Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of straight-faced 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

Their approach hinged on leaning into Frazier’s deadpan tone and taking the concept more seriously.

— Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026
Played completely deadpan by Konopka, the character beneath this daft assemblage of aesthetic choices makes no real sense as a functionary in this dry, dark future, much less as its hero.

— Guy Lodge, Variety, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of deadpan

Adjective

The desperate-sounding call that an eagle named Shadow let out early one morning, after his mate, Jackie, had gone missing, was not a bland biological fact.

— Alex Ross, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2026
Although when seen up close or for prolonged periods, the digital dinos are remarkably bland and unimpressive — I was reminded of the notoriously bad CGI in the woeful Ray Bradbury movie A Sound of Thunder (2005).

— Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of bland

Adjective

Few signs of humanity interrupted the rocky shoreline — just a couple of cabins and the wooden railings of a path leading to a wizened cedar tree revered by the tribe.

— Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026
The interiors are just as blissful, with terra-cotta walls and smooth, wooden floor-to-ceiling wardrobes adding warmth to pale stone floors and marble bathrooms.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of wooden

Adjective

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
Moments of physical intimacy between his protagonists are often relayed in rigid and frustratingly inexpressive language, which occasionally veers into the tiringly smutty.

— Taran Dugal, New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2026

Definition of inexpressive

Adjective

The marsh was built in the 1990s to naturally clean dry-weather urban runoff from San Diego Creek and address the algae blooms that once existed in Upper Newport Bay, according to the water district’s website.

— Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
Craig, now a devoted granddad with a dry sense of humor, began working alongside his father at thirteen, quitting school even though teachers warned him that house moving was a dying trade.

— Nicola Twilley, New Yorker, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of dry

Adjective

Many Labour members hope Burnham’s people skills and charisma can connect with the public more than the stolid, managerial Starmer could ever do.

— ABC News, ABC News, 23 June 2026
Many Labor members hope Burnham’s people skills and charisma can connect with the public more than the stolid, managerial Starmer could ever do.

— Jill Lawless, Los Angeles Times, 23 June 2026