as in blank
not expressing any emotion
he delivered the joke in such a deadpan voice that we thought at first that he was serious
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Recent Examples of deadpan
Duane sets the precedent for what will turn out to be a lengthy comedy career for Walken, delivering wildly ridiculous dialogue with a deadpan expression and at point blank range.
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Joe Tobal, EW.com, 9 Dec. 2022
Doesn’t the Television Academy see the deadpan delivery and cool millennial style Selena Gomez constantly brings to the table?
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 12 Sep. 2022
This deadpan dramedy from Finnish director and writer Aki Kaurismäki could be the ultimate anti-Christmas movie.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Dec. 2022
During episode four, young Wednesday, played with perfect deadpan glee by Jenna Ortega, dominates the dance floor at her boarding school Nevermore Academy’s annual Rave ‘N Ball.
—cleveland, 19 Dec. 2022
See all Example Sentences for deadpan 
Joe Tobal, EW.com, 9 Dec. 2022
Doesn’t the Television Academy see the deadpan delivery and cool millennial style Selena Gomez constantly brings to the table?
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 12 Sep. 2022
This deadpan dramedy from Finnish director and writer Aki Kaurismäki could be the ultimate anti-Christmas movie.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Dec. 2022
During episode four, young Wednesday, played with perfect deadpan glee by Jenna Ortega, dominates the dance floor at her boarding school Nevermore Academy’s annual Rave ‘N Ball.
—cleveland, 19 Dec. 2022
See all Example Sentences for deadpan
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deadpan
Adjective
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The accessory is wonderful unadorned and thus serves as a blank canvas that showcases color wonderfully on the nappa calfskin body.Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 6 Jan. 2025
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Folded within the books were sheets of blank paper on which the astrologer drew checkerboard-like structures as the men watched.Kanak Kapur, The New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Subjects were shown pictures of two expressionless male faces over and over.Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 11 Sep. 2012
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Bale ran to the corner of the pitch, and, having been an expressionless bystander for much of the evening, shouted in ecstasy.Hua Hsu, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2022
Adjective
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Häagen-Dazs More News: Cowboys' Jerry Jones Set to Bring Back Mike McCarthy as Head Coach Häagen-Dazs, the premium ice cream brand with the pseudo-European name, has joined the Super Bowl ad club for the first time ever and dropped an enigmatic teaser featuring...a Chevy.Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 10 Jan. 2025
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Echevarría also had turns as the enigmatic British agent Raoul, who doubles as the manager of a Havana cigar factory, in the James Bond film Die Another Day (2002), and as Mexican president Antonio López de Santa Anna in John Lee Hancock’s The Alamo (2004).Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Farewell to the impassive, agile grapplers, and to the whiplash pleasure of a badminton rally.Maya Singer, Vogue, 8 Jan. 2025
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Taveras places his left hand near his heart, but remains impassive.Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 2 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Blink Twice nods at a tangle of different contemporary ailments: lifestyle fetishism, wellness hedonism, our obscene fealty to stolid tech bros and their untrammeled wealth.Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 6 Dec. 2024
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Allies say Starmer’s stolid exterior hides a steely ambition and a determination to win.Jill Lawless, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 May 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Deadpan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deadpan. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
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