rictus

American  

[rik-tuhs] / ˈrɪk təs /

noun

plural

rictus, rictuses

1. the gape of the mouth of a bird.

2. the gaping or opening of the mouth.

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rictus British  

/ ˈrɪktəs /

noun

1. the gap or cleft of an open mouth or beak

2. a fixed or unnatural grin or grimace, as in horror or death

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Other Word Forms

• rictal adjective
• subrictal adjective

Etymology

Origin of rictus

1750–60; < Latin: wide-open mouth, equivalent to rig-, variant stem of ringī to open the mouth wide + -tus suffix of v. action.

Explanation

A rictus is a frozen, fake smile. If the star of a play finds herself overcome by stage fright, she might forget her lines and stand, trembling, her mouth twisted into a rictus. The word rictus most often describes a smile that doesn't convey delight or happiness — instead, it's a kind of horrified, involuntary grin. Your smile might freeze on your face in a rictus during a truly terrifying amusement park ride, or your discomfort as you watch your friend sing badly in a talent show might be reflected in your rictus of a grin. In Latin, rictus means "open mouth," from rict-, or "gaped."

Example Sentences

In 2004, the couple staged a photocall skiing together to demonstrate a united front - with Victoria giving what Lampert describes as a pained "rictus grin".

From BBC • Jun. 14, 2025

She exudes all the charisma of an A.I.-generated character, her makeup-caked rictus unmoving from the lips up.

From Slate • Jan. 20, 2025

It doesn’t take much for clowns to be creepy — the unnatural colors and rictus grins do the heavy lifting — an effect that’s been exploited by schlock horror for eons.

From New York Times • Aug. 3, 2023

With her red-lipped rictus grin, her eyes that can beam with earnestness one minute and deaden with murderous resignation the next, Goth makes a sublime demon, but she’s also a creature of irreducible pathos.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2022

Penny’s mouth was frozen in a rictus of a smile.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin