visage
Americannoun
-
face or countenance
-
appearance; aspect
Synonym Usage
See face.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of visage
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French, equivalent to vis “face” (from Latin vīsus “sight, appearance” ( Vulgar Latin: “face”), noun use of masculine past participle of vidēre “to see”) + -age -age. See wit 2 ( def. )
Explanation
Visage is a literary term for referring to someone's face or facial features. You may notice that some face creams use the word visage to try to sound fancier than they are. A famous use of visage is in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Brutus says: "O conspiracy/Shamest thou to show thy dangerous brow by night,/When evils are most free? O, then by day/Where wilt thou find a cavern dark enough/To mask thy monstrous visage?" Now there's a quote that will help you remember the meaning of visage, and even give you nightmares.
Vocabulary lists containing visage
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Romeo and Juliet
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The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
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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.
A DJ party night, featuring sets from Radio 2 presenters Sara Cox, DJ Spoony, Gary Davies, Michelle Visage and Rylan will kick off the weekend on the Friday night.
From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026
The four finalists sat down with judges RuPaul and Michelle Visage to reflect on their time on the reality show, serving up some dazzling final looks before Silllexa and Catrin were asked to sashay away.
From BBC • Nov. 28, 2025
“My jiggles…. The laughter was endless, our talks were special, your energy was contagious,” said Michelle Visage, who posted a photo with the late star.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 28, 2025
Asked why TikTok creators should be recognised with awards, Visage said: "Actors and singers get recognised, why wouldn't content creators? They deserve it."
From BBC • Dec. 3, 2024
My name that was as fresh As Dians Visage, is now begrim'd and blacke As mine owne face.
From Othello by Shakespeare, William
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.
