as in solemn
not joking or playful in mood or manner
delivered the reprimand with a harsh and unsmiling face
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of unsmiling
The portrait's lack of background and Trump's unsmiling gaze further differentiates it from those of his predecessors.
—
Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 4 June 2025
And often next to Ed, holding a single malt, there would be an unsmiling writer of great pretension looking down at you from a great height.
—Gary Shteyngart, The Atlantic, 4 June 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
-
More than five hours after the crash, there was a solemn procession off of Route 146 led by Massachusetts State Police, followed by the medical examiner and fellow police officers.—
-
That this is a serious matter—not slight at all—does not oblige the author of a seriously funny book to be solemn.—
Adjective
-
Several French and Italian citizens were among the dead, and Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called for stern punishment to be meted out to those responsible for the blaze.—
-
Continue reading … FLIP-FLOP – Reporter claims Harris privately joked about question before stern response.—
Adjective
-
The lawsuit names specific brands — including cereals, pizzas, sodas, and potato chips — linking them to serious health problems.—
-
Kittle was carted off the field, indicating a serious injury, after he was tackled by safety Marcus Epps at the right sideline.—
Cite this Entry
“Unsmiling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unsmiling. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share