quizzical
Americanadjective
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odd, queer, or comical.
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questioning or puzzled.
a quizzical expression on her face.
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derisively questioning, ridiculing, or chaffing.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of quizzical
Explanation
Quizzical usually means puzzled or questioning, though it can also mean confused, surprised, comical, or mocking. If someone's looking at you with a quizzical expression when you mention your summer, it might mean they don't know about your adventures at space camp. The word quiz tucked inside quizzical should help you remember the idea of questioning that this adjective often suggests. The word also comes in handy to describe being eccentric or odd, as well as skeptical or derisive. You raise a quizzical eyebrow every time you see me in my giant fur hat. Does that mean you don’t like it?
Vocabulary lists containing quizzical
The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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Emotions on Display
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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 8
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Quizzical looks that evolve into sincere shared smiles fill in the gaps.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2019
For this week’s Quizzical, here’s a quiz from the Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering criminal justice reform.
From Slate • Mar. 2, 2016
For the fourth installment of Quizzical, Slate’s new weekly quiz, we test your artistic knowledge once again.
From Slate • Feb. 17, 2016
Quizzical blue eyes look out from the face of a classics don; he could not, even if he tried, roar with animal magnetism.
From Time Magazine Archive
Quizzical Portraits of the writers of "Punch" have been introduced in its pages.
From The Humorous Poetry of the English Language; from Chaucer to Saxe by Parton, James
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
