moue
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of moue
First recorded in 1845–50; from French; Old French moe; see mow 3
Explanation
A moue is a grimace you make with your lips. If you make this expression, you're usually showing distaste, petulance, or a similar emotion. Moue is also used, however, to refer to a flirtatious pout. The word moue is pronounced "moo," like the sound a cow makes, although the origin of the word has nothing to do with cows. Instead, the noun moue comes from the Middle Dutch word mouwe, which meant a protruding lip. You can make a moue of displeasure when someone steals your parking spot or give a coy moue when you're trying to get away with something. Either way, you're pouting.
Vocabulary lists containing moue
The Lingo of Body Language
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The Picture of Dorian Gray
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Scrabble: Four-Letter Words with 3 Vowels
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Harper is haunted, and Buckley conveys her anxiety with wide, darting eyes, or twisting her mouth in a moue.
From Salon • May 20, 2022
Dern is in devilish form, right down to the little moue of sympathy that she gives when Nicole says, “I don’t want any money or anything.”
From The New Yorker • Nov. 1, 2019
But who cares what unknown forces shaped her mouth into its magnificent moue?
From The Guardian • Oct. 6, 2012
“Meet the new face of tranquility,” says the tagline above her miserable moue.
From Slate • Oct. 5, 2011
Aarfy winked encouragingly and jerked his thumb back toward McWatt with a humorous moue.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
