poker face

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR poker face ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an expressionless face: He can tell a funny story with a poker face.

a person who has or deliberately assumes a poker face: It is impossible to tell what that poker face is really thinking.

Origin of poker face

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85

Related formspok·er-faced, adjective

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

Related Words for poker-faced

enigmatic, impenetrable, unintelligible, incomprehensible, unfathomable, disinterested, evenhanded, fair-minded, uninvolved, unbiased, uncommitted, inactive, undecided, nonaligned, indifferent, nonpartisan, unflappable, quiet, static, laid-back

Examples from the Web for poker-faced

Contemporary Examples of poker-faced

He just sat there, poker-faced, as the madcap pie-thrower set upon his boss.
Murdoch’s Secret Weapon
Lloyd Grove
July 21, 2011
"Just enjoying myself," Bloomberg answered, poker-faced and giving away nothing.
Obama Trounces Leno
Lloyd Grove
May 2, 2010

Historical Examples of poker-faced

Poker-faced Callahan showed nothing of what he must be feeling.
Double Challenge
James Arthur Kjelgaard
How does it feel, General, to turn your only son over to a poker-faced alien who shoots when you walk near his ship?
Alien Offer
Al Sevcik
And if it were that of a practical joker, the poker-faced quality of it was perfect acting.
Direct Wire
Clee Garson

British Dictionary definitions for poker-faced

poker-faced

adjective

informal having a deliberately expressionless face

poker face

noun

informal a face without expression, as that of a poker player attempting to conceal the value of his cards

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

Idioms and Phrases with poker-faced

poker face

A visage lacking any expression that can be interpreted, as in Whenever Betty attended one of her children's performances, she managed to keep a poker face. This term alludes to the facial expression of a poker player who is expert at concealing his feelings about his hand. [c. 1880]