as in solemn
not joking or playful in mood or manner
delivered the reprimand with a harsh and unsmiling face
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Recent Examples of unsmiling
Prima felt that there was something humiliating in Ruth’s loyalty to Thalia, and in her unsmiling scrutiny of Heiss.
—
Lillian Fishman, New Yorker, 4 May 2025
Soon after the baby is declared dead, Nina is blamed by the woman’s husband and Nina’s unsmiling supervisor (Merab Ninidze) launches an investigation into what went wrong.
—Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2025
The card's main feature is Trump's face — staring downwards at the camera, unsmiling — and is flanked by the Statue of Liberty, a circle of stars and Trump's signature.
—Rachel Raposas, People.com, 4 Apr. 2025
His Rick Honeycutt is utterly humorless, but the movie isn’t; there are plenty of laughs in pitting his deadpan impatience — conveyed by an unsmiling mouth under a push-broom mustache — against the idiot confidence of Billy Crudup’s man-child entrepreneur.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 10 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for unsmiling
Lillian Fishman, New Yorker, 4 May 2025
Soon after the baby is declared dead, Nina is blamed by the woman’s husband and Nina’s unsmiling supervisor (Merab Ninidze) launches an investigation into what went wrong.
—Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2025
The card's main feature is Trump's face — staring downwards at the camera, unsmiling — and is flanked by the Statue of Liberty, a circle of stars and Trump's signature.
—Rachel Raposas, People.com, 4 Apr. 2025
His Rick Honeycutt is utterly humorless, but the movie isn’t; there are plenty of laughs in pitting his deadpan impatience — conveyed by an unsmiling mouth under a push-broom mustache — against the idiot confidence of Billy Crudup’s man-child entrepreneur.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 10 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for unsmiling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unsmiling
Adjective
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Cape Town overflows with history and culture, from the colorful houses and Cape Malay heritage of Bo-Kaap to the solemn shores of Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years in prison.—
Taryn White,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Sep. 2025
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Perhaps that should be a solemn oath for all AI makers.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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In fact, Baltimore has received a stern warning on closing out big games from former All-Pro cornerback Patrick Peterson.—
James Brizuela,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Sep. 2025
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Shatter and Falconi had formed Flipper in the late 1970s Bay Area at the dawn of hardcore, the tougher and sterner punk variant that had a stronghold in California.—
Jazz Monroe,
Pitchfork,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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And at what point will the FO/Doc accept that—even with Conforto’s lucky strike last night—no serious team can use a Conforto-Pages-Teo outfield—in the field and at the plate—and hope to contend in the way this team should?—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
13 Sep. 2025
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While the classic grounds for denaturalization include concealment of criminal histories or material lies in the naturalization process, there are growing indications that serious tax fraud may be viewed as evidence that naturalization was procured illegally or fraudulently.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unsmiling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unsmiling. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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