rictus

[rik-tuhs]

noun

plural

rictus, rictuses 

1. the gape of the mouth of a bird.

2. the gaping or opening of the mouth.

rictus

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• rictal adjective
• subrictal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rictus¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of rictus¹

C18: from Latin, from ringī to gape

Example Sentences

She then paused five long seconds, her face a rictus of wonderment and concern, allowing the observation and admission — from a sitting member of the United States Senate, no less — to sink in.

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Quayle’s stricken look — a rictus of shock and humiliation — spoke to the devastation of the rejoinder after which, it’s fair to say, his callow image never fully faded.

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Coverage of his personal appearances focused on his obvious discomfort in meeting with strangers and his fruitless efforts to laugh or even crack a smile, which tended to produce only a hideous facial rictus.

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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.

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It’s a twisted rictus that, had my mother seen it on the day of filming, she would have surely intervened, worried that Goth’s face would stay that way.

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