expression

[ ik-spresh-uhn ]

/ ɪkˈsprɛʃ ən /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR expression ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the act of expressing or setting forth in words: the free expression of political opinions.

a particular word, phrase, or form of words: old-fashioned expressions.

the manner or form in which a thing is expressed in words; wording; phrasing: delicacy of expression.

the power of expressing in words: joy beyond expression.

indication of feeling, spirit, character, etc., as on the face, in the voice, or in artistic execution: the lyric expression embodied in his poetry.

a look or intonation expressing personal reaction, feeling, etc.: a shocked expression.

the quality or power of expressing an attitude, emotion, etc.: a face that lacks expression; to read with expression.

the act of expressing or representing, as by symbols.

Mathematics. a symbol or a combination of symbols representing a value, relation, or the like.

Linguistics. the stylistic characteristics of an utterance (opposed to meaning).

Linguistics. the system of verbal utterances specific to a language (opposed to content¹).

the act of expressing or pressing out.

Computers. a combination of variables, constants, and functions linked by operation symbols and any required punctuation that describe a rule for calculating a value.

Genetics.

the action of a gene in the production of a protein or a phenotype.
expressivity(def 2).

Nearby words

Origin of expression

1425–75; late Middle English < Latin expressiōn- (stem of expressiō) a pressing out. See express, -ion

SYNONYMS FOR expression

1. utterance, declaration, assertion, statement. 2. term, idiom. See phrase. 3. language, diction, phraseology. 5. manifestation, sign. 6. aspect, air.

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Related forms

ex·pres·sion·al, adjectiveex·pres·sion·less, adjectiveex·pres·sion·less·ly, adverbpre·ex·pres·sion, noun

re·ex·pres·sion, nounsu·per·ex·pres·sion, noun

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

Examples from the Web for expression

It was also an attack on our freedom of expression and way of life.
Politicians Only Love Journalists When They're Dead|Luke O’Neil|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“Tu eres como chuleria en pote,” goes the Puerto Rican expression that gave rise to his moniker.
In The Shadow of Murdered Cops|Michael Daly|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
However the expression on his face offered some explanation.
The Life and Hard Times Of The Family A Cuban Defector Left Behind|Brin-Jonathan Butler|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Chris Stein of Blondie catches Ramone with an “aw, shucks” expression just after he drops a plate of food.
‘All Good Cretins Go to Heaven’: Dee Dee Ramone’s Twisted Punk Paintings|Melissa Leon|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Future was determined to supply it using the very modes of expression it had turned its back on.
Future Makes Us Rethink Everything We Thought We Knew About Rap Artists|Luke Hopping|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Still I cannot see that this at all explains the expression of a "cock-and-bull story."
Notes and Queries, Number 227, March 4, 1854|Various
His eyelids droop slightly, but his eyes are keen and his expression astute.
Loyalties (Fifth Series Plays)|John Galsworthy
Infinite—this word is by no means the expression of a clear idea: it is merely the expression of an effort to attain one.
The Continental Monthly, Vol. 4, No. 1, July, 1863|Various
I bowed my head to conceal the expression which might have told his lordship that I intended to do nothing of the kind.
The International Spy|Allen Upward
The form of expression was so crude that once more Barbara was startled.
The Dust Flower|Basil King

British Dictionary definitions for expression

expression

/ (ɪkˈsprɛʃən) /

noun

the act or an instance of transforming ideas into words

a manifestation of an emotion, feeling, etc, without wordstears are an expression of grief

communication of emotion through music, painting, etc

a look on the face that indicates mood or emotiona joyful expression

the choice of words, phrases, syntax, intonation, etc, in communicating

a particular phrase used conventionally to express somethinga dialect expression

the act or process of forcing or squeezing out a liquid

maths a variable, function, or some combination of constants, variables, or functions

genetics the effect of a particular gene on the phenotype

Derived Formsexpressional, adjectiveexpressionless, adjectiveexpressionlessly, adverb

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 expression

expression

early 15c., "action of pressing out;" later (mid-15c.) "action of manifesting a feeling;" (late 15c.) "a putting into words," from Middle French expression (14c.), from Late Latin expressionem (nominative expressio), noun of action from past participle stem of exprimere (see express (v.)). Meaning "an action or creation that expresses feelings" is from 1620s. Of the face, from 1774. Occasionally the word also was used literally, for "the action of squeezing out."

Medicine definitions for expression

expression

[ ĭk-sprĕsh′ən ]

n.

The act of pressing or squeezing out.

The outward manifestation of a mood or disposition by mobility of the facial features; facies.

The phenotype manifested by a genotype under fixed environmental conditions.

expression

noun

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Origin of expression

Examples from the Web for expression

expression

noun

expression

expression

n.