countenance

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“
For as the countenance is the image of the mind, so are the eyes the informers as to what is going on within it.

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Definitions (30)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (6)

  1. noun Appearance, especially the expression of the face: The question left him with a puzzled countenance.
  2. noun The face or facial features.
  3. noun A look or expression indicative of encouragement or of moral support.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (18)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

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Examples (50)

  • And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. —  The Omega Letter
  • For as the countenance is the image of the mind, so are the eyes the informers as to what is going on within it. —  The Orations of Marcus Tullius Cicero, Volume 4
  • For the countenance was a death's head, and the breast was that of a mouldering skeleton At last, however, a youth presented himself who, more courageous or more tipsy than his fellows, or more helplessly paralysed with horror than they, did not decline the proffered caress, and suffered himself to be drawn within the goblin's accursed embrace. —  The Twilight of the Gods, and Other Tales
  • He understood it all in a moment, and the whole tone and colour of his countenance was altered. —  The Golden Lion of Granpere
  • The expression of his countenance was almost ghastly. —  The Gerrard Street Mystery and Other Weird Tales
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

visage ·  gaze ·  smile ·  brow ·  expression ·  feature ·  mien ·  temper ·  manner ·  mood ·  lip ·  dignity

Used in the same contextWord Family

countenance:   countenances
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English contenaunce, from Old French, from contenir, to behave; see contain.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from Middle English countenaunce, contenance, cuntenance, -aunce, from Old French cuntenance, contenance, French contenance, from Middle Latin continentia, countenance, demeanor, gesture, L. moderation, continence: see continence.
  2. from countenance, n.
 

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/ˈkaʊntənəns/
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