expression

[ik-spresh-uhn]

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).

Origin of expression

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

Related formsex·pres·sion·al, adjectiveex·pres·sion·less, adjectiveex·pres·sion·less·ly, adverbpre·ex·pres·sion, nounre·ex·pres·sion, nounsu·per·ex·pres·sion, noun

Synonyms for expression

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR expression ON THESAURUS.COM

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

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

Related Words for expression

definition, style, word, language, explanation, remark, interpretation, speech, term, statement, phrase, voice, look, character, face, aspect, smile, grin, enunciation, vent

Examples from the Web for expression

Contemporary Examples of 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
“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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of expression

I could keep only the effect of its expression and the few tones of your voice I heard.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
It is easier to say what this expression is not, than what it is.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
He appeared to need this light to read the expression on it.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
We believe that all men have the right to freedom of thought and expression.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
There was an expression of anxious concern on Elfreda's round face.
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton Campus
Jessie Graham Flower

British Dictionary definitions for expression

expression

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

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."

expression in Medicine

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.