visage
Americannoun
-
face or countenance
-
appearance; aspect
Related Words
See face.
Other Word Forms
- visaged adjective
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.
So when a slideshow of Kelly’s hairless visage appeared on the screen, Dokoupil fell bracingly silent.
From Slate • Jan. 6, 2026
Lincoln’s visage took over the front of the coin in 1909 as the country celebrated the 100th anniversary of his birth.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 12, 2025
But Mitchell, whose bushy beard and joking personality complement a perpetually smiling visage, turned serious when explaining the end of his career.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 20, 2025
Still, it seems the Defence Ministry's shattered visage will remain unchanged for a while at least.
From BBC • Jun. 11, 2025
Joinville's chiseled visage is wan, his eyes haunted.
From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz
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.
