physiognomy

American  

[fiz-ee-og-nuh-mee, -on-uh-mee] / ˌfɪz iˈɒg nə mi, -ˈɒn ə mi /

noun

• physiognomies
  plural

1. the face or countenance, especially when considered as an index to the character.

   a fierce physiognomy.

2. Also called anthroposcopy. the art of determining character or personal characteristics from the form or features of the body, especially of the face.

3. the outward appearance of anything, taken as offering some insight into its character.

   the physiognomy of a nation.

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physiognomy British  

/ ˌfɪzɪˈɒnəmɪ /

noun

1. a person's features or characteristic expression considered as an indication of personality

2. the art or practice of judging character from facial features

3. the outward appearance of something, esp the physical characteristics of a geographical region

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• physiognomist
  noun
• physiognomic
  adjective
• physiognomical
  adjective
• physiognomonic
  adjective
• physiognomonical
  adjective
• physiognomically
  adverb
• physiognomonically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• physiognomies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of physiognomy

1350–1400; earlier phisognomie, phisiognomie, late Middle English phisonomie < Medieval Latin physionomia, physonomia < Late Greek physiognōmía, syncopated variant of Greek physiognōmonía art of judging a person by his features ( see physio-, gnomon, -y ³); replacing Middle English fisenamie, fisnamie, fisnomie < Middle French fisonomie < Medieval Latin, as above; cf. phiz

Explanation

The word physiognomy means the appearance of someone's face. When traveling in Italy, you may be struck by the pleasing physiognomy of the marble statues sculpted during the Renaissance. The reason physiognomy sounds like it should be something you study in school right after biology, geometry, and astronomy is that people used to think that it was a science by which you could tell someone's character through their facial features. If you've ever read any Nancy Drew stories, you will know how this plays out — anyone with "shifty eyes" is not to be trusted.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

physiognomy physiognomies

So the heart of the problem was to give the museum the necessary new gallery space, studio for resident artists, 100-seat “vegetable-forward” restaurant, and other supporting areas—while doing nothing that would disrupt its distinctive physiognomy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026

“Although Hall never resorts to a cliched impersonation, his suggestion of Nixon’s physiognomy is frequently uncanny, especially in profile.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2022

At the same exhibition, Degas showed four sketches of young men being tried for murder, which he had drawn from life; those, too, are informed by the day’s prevailing belief that physiognomy contained destiny.

From The New Yorker ● Nov. 20, 2018

He combined the photographs with thorough criminal backgrounds, and he expected his detectives to know by heart the telltale physiognomy of each nefarious character.

From New York Times ● Feb. 9, 2018

Whether there is some transmission of knowledge through the ether, or whether physiognomy and expression have some linguistic virtue so subtle that we do not remark its operation, the eyes may indeed speak.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson

Linowitz’s fanciful physiognomies peer inside as they bulge outward.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 21, 2023

“Avatar” was a thrilling moviegoing experience and a pioneering showpiece for performance-capture technology, which allowed Cameron and his actors to endow their Na’vi characters with astonishingly detailed and lifelike gazes, gestures and physiognomies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 13, 2022

By then, Mullins and Ashburn are acting out their own quasi-marital drama of clashing temperaments and contrasting physiognomies.

From New York Times ● Jun. 27, 2013

Craggy, gnarled, lean and tough, with a touch of whimsy, it is one of the most remembered physiognomies in history.

From The Guardian ● Feb. 11, 2013

I know how to read faces, and I tell you these two physiognomies bear the unmistakable stamp of conspirators.

From Vineta The Phantom City by E. T. C. (Edward Theodore Chalmers) Werner