visage

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 6, 2008 is: visage • \VIZ-ij\  • noun 1 : the face, countenance, or appearance of a person or sometimes an animal 2 : aspect, appearance Examples: The model's fierce, smoldering visage appears to gaze with contempt from billboards throughout the city. Did you know? The word "face" may be a pretty generic word, but it has several high-flown synonyms. "Physiognomy," for instance, refers to facial features thought to reveal qualities of temperament or character ("I thought I could detect in his physiognomy a mind owning better qualities than his father ever possessed. . . ." -- Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights). "Countenance" is often used to refer to the face as an indication of mood or emotion ("Mina struggled hard to keep her brave countenance. . . ." -- Bram Stoker, Dracula). "Visage" can refer to the face of a person or an animal, and it can also refer to the appearance of nonliving things, as in "the dirty visage of the old abandoned factory." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.