RICTUS Synonyms: 28 Similar and Opposite Words

rictus

noun

as in smirk

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of rictus The Mirror and the Light opens with that profoundly disturbing execution, Foy a pale rictus of fear and vulnerability as she is led to the block, where she is blindfolded and positioned before the executioner’s sword. —Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 20 Mar. 2025 With their teeth bared in a frozen rictus grin, this couple appears to be hiding a darkness which we are left only to guess at. —Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, 15 Mar. 2025 Distorted and exaggerated by Weegee’s hand—with grins set in a chilling rictus, or eyes and noses spread wide and pancaked—these idols became monsters. —Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, 22 Feb. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rictus

Noun

Here are six real books coming out this week, with dust jackets that reflect their real contents: mysteries and mishaps, often told with a sly smirk.

— Colin Dwyer, NPR, 1 Apr. 2025
Hartford Courant Bueckers took and hit the 3-pointer with a shrug and a smirk.

— Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 25 Mar. 2025