visage

noun

vis·​age ˈvi-zij 

1

: the face, countenance, or appearance of a person or sometimes an animal

2

: aspect, appearance

the grimy visage of a mining town

Did you know?

In “Ozymandias,” Percy Bysshe Shelley’s famous poem, a traveller tells of a colossal statue’s “shattered visage” lying half sunk in desert sands, going on to describe its “frown / And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command…” Now, Shelley could have simply chosen face over the more highfalutin synonym visage, but not only would face shatter the sonnet’s iambic pentameter, but a formal-sounding word is sometimes preferable to a basic one for all kinds of reasons, including sound, tone, or simply the cut of its jib. Physiognomy, for instance, refers to facial features thought to reveal qualities of temperament or character, as when Emily Brontë writes in Wuthering Heights, “I thought I could detect in his physiognomy a mind owning better qualities than his father ever possessed.” Countenance, meanwhile, is often used to refer to the face as an indication of mood or emotion, as in Bram Stoker’s Dracula: “Mina struggled hard to keep her brave countenance.” As all of these quotes attest, when it comes to wordsmithery, sometimes you’ve just got to vamp.

Synonyms

• cast
• countenance
• expression
• face
• look

Examples of visage in a Sentence

an old man with a noticeably happy visage

visitors to the mountain range had long noted that the natural rock formation bore a striking resemblance to the visage of a man

Recent Examples on the Web

Lindsay Lohan Celebrates 38th Birthday with Smiling Selfie: ‘Grateful for Every Moment’ 47 of 48 Naomi Watts Wonder who's responsible for that glowing, makeup-free visage? —Kaitlyn Frey, Peoplemag, 17 Sep. 2024

Bloom is the center of the drama, his handsome leading man visage transformed by prosthetics that give him a broken nose, cauliflower ears, and a pugilist's demeanor. —Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 6 Sep. 2024

A lot of the most enduring horror movie franchises have one, from Jason Voorhees' goalie mask in the Friday the 13th series to the ghostly white visage of Halloween's Michael Myers. —Bronwyn Barnes, EW.com, 15 Aug. 2024

La Strada Year: 1954 Runtime: 1h 48m Director: Federico Fellini As with several filmmakers on this list, picking a single Fellini feels almost cruel, but a good place to start is with the unforgettable visage of Giulietta Masina. —Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 18 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from vis face, from Latin visus sight, from vidēre to see — more at wit

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

visage

noun

vis·​age ˈviz-ij 

1

: the face

also : an expression of the face

2

: the outward appearance of a person, animal, or thing