deadpan
noun · adjective · adverb · verb
Simple meaning
A style of comedic delivery in which something humorous is said or done while not exhibiting a change in emotion or facial expression.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
dehdpanSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈdɛdpæn
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A style of comedic delivery in which something humorous is said or done while not exhibiting a change in emotion or facial expression.
adjective
Deliberately impassive or expressionless.
Having such a face or look.
adverb
In a deadpan manner.
verb
To express (something) in an impassive or expressionless manner.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A style of comedic delivery in which something humorous is said or done while not exhibiting a change in emotion or facial expression.
Used this way, deadpan is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. Keep it for friendly, informal settings.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Playful
- Usage feel
- Playful and informal
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use deadpan
- “She told the joke deadpan.”adverb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.