countenance
countenance is defined in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913) with 6 senses, and appears in Roget's Thesaurus (1911) with 40 related terms. The full text of each entry is reproduced verbatim below.
Definitions
- 1.The face; the features. In countenance somewhat doth resemble you. Shak.
- 2.Approving or encouraging aspect of face; hence, favor, good will, support; aid; encouragement. Thou hast made him . . . glad with thy countenance. Ps. xxi.
- 3.This is the magistrate's peculiar province, to give countenance to piety and virtue, and to rebuke vice. Atterbury.
- 4.Superficial appearance; show; pretense. [Obs.] The election being done, he made countenance of great discontent thereat. Ascham. In countenance, in an assured condition or aspect; free from shame or dismay. "It puts the learned in countenance, and gives them a place among the fashionable part of mankind." Addison. -- Out of countenance, not bold or assured; confounded; abashed. "Their best friends were out of countenance, because they found that the imputations . . . were well grounded." Clarendon. -- To keep the countenance, to preserve a composed or natural look, undisturbed by passion or emotion. Swift.
- 5.To encourage; to favor; to approve; to aid; to abet. This conceit, though countenanced by learned men, is not made out either by experience or reason. Sir T. Browne. Error supports custom, custom countenances error. Milton.
- 6.To make a show of; to pretend. [Obs.] Which to these ladies love did countenance. Spenser.
Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
Synonyms
Related terms (Roget's 1911)
- advance
- advanced
- ahead
- and
- anterior
- anteriority
- background
- bashful
- bashfulness
- beak
- beat
- before
- bend
- blush
- blushing
- bow
- brow
- bushel
- candle
- cast
- ceremony
- coin
- come
- confront
- constrained
- constraint
- coy
- demure
- demureness
- diffidence
- diffident
- disc
- disk
- disposition
- distance
- divine
- draw
- drum
- est
- eye
Source: Roget's Thesaurus, 1911 edition (public domain, via Project Gutenberg eBook #10681).
Related questions
Reverse-dictionary questions
Definition-first questions whose answer is countenance.
- What is the face; the features. In countenance somewhat doth resemble you. Shak called?
- What is approving or encouraging aspect of face; hence, favor, good will, support; aid; encouragement. Thou hast made him . . . glad with thy countenance. Ps. xxi called?
- What is this is the magistrate's peculiar province, to give countenance to piety and virtue, and to rebuke vice. Atterbury called?
- What is to make a show of; to pretend. [Obs.] Which to these ladies love did countenance. Spenser called?
Sources
- Definitions: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
- Synonyms & antonyms: Roget's Thesaurus, 1911 edition (public domain, via Project Gutenberg eBook #10681).
- Canonical URL: https://worddirectanswers.com/word/countenance
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