deadpan

[ ded-pan ]

/ ˈdɛdˌpæn /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR deadpan ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

marked by or accomplished with a careful pretense of seriousness or calm detachment; impassive or expressionless: deadpan humor.

displaying no emotional or personal involvement: a deadpan style.

adverb

in a deadpan manner: He spoke his lines utterly deadpan.

verb (used with or without object), dead·panned, dead·pan·ning.

to behave or perform in a deadpan manner.

noun Also dead pan.

a face showing no expression.

a style of comedy that relies on the comedian's maintaining such a face.

Nearby words

Origin of deadpan

An Americanism dating back to 1925–30; dead + pan¹

Related formsdead panner, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for deadpan

The Garfield specials are also unique for their deadpan delivery and oftentimes bleak worldview.
Garfield Television: The Cat Who Saved Primetime Cartoons|Rich Goldstein|November 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But something about the cover image—four deadpan dudes against a robin's-egg blue background—spoke to me, I guess.
Remembering Weezer’s ‘The Blue Album,’ A Garage Rock Classic, on Its 20th Anniversary|Andrew Romano|May 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But he had his own defenses, a great off-hand resilience and a deadpan humor, and he survived.
What It Was Like to Watch the Beatles Become the Beatles—Nik Cohn Remembers|Nik Cohn|February 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“I could tell you missed me more than I missed you,” Tom says, deadpan.
Matt & Tom Berninger on The National’s Doc ‘Mistaken for Strangers’|Melissa Leon|April 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Homes carries off her fiction-writing Nixon with deadpan wit.
A.M. Homes on Her New Novel ‘May We Be Forgiven’|Jane Ciabattari|September 29, 2012|DAILY BEAST
She continued to stare, deadpan and blank-eyed, with no answering flicker of a smile.
The Stars, My Brothers|Edmond Hamilton
Suzanne looked closely at him—he was so deadpan, it was hard to tell what was on his mind.
Makers|Cory Doctorow

British Dictionary definitions for deadpan

deadpan

/ (ˈdɛdˌpæn) /

adjective, adverb

with a deliberately emotionless face or mannerdeadpan humour

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for deadpan

deadpan

1928, from dead (adj.) + pan (n.) in slang sense of "face."

deadpan

adjective

adverb

verb (used with or without object), dead·panned, dead·pan·ning.

noun Also dead pan.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of deadpan

Examples from the Web for deadpan

deadpan

adjective, adverb

deadpan