stone face

Meanings

1. 1nouncountableinformal

   A calm, hard expression that shows no feeling at all.

   Grammar: Usually singular with an or the: kept a stone face.

   Patterns

   • keep a stone face
   • with a stone face

   The judge listened to the plea with a stone face.

   He kept a stone face even when the crowd booed.

   Her stone face gave nothing away during the negotiation.

2. 2nouncountableinformalfigurative

   A person who never shows emotion, often someone who seems cold or strict.

   Grammar: Refers to the person: He is a real stone face.

   Patterns

   • a real stone face

   The coach was a stone face who never praised anyone.

   Nobody could make the old guard laugh; he was a stone face.

   At poker night, Mia is a stone face and nobody can read her cards.

Word forms

Common combinations

keep a stone face

I tried to keep a stone face while he told the joke.

wear a stone face

The guards wore a stone face at the gate.

with a stone face

He delivered the bad news with a stone face.

stone face of

Behind the stone face of the manager lay real worry.

Synonyms and how they differ

poker face

A poker face is a blank look kept on purpose to hide thoughts, while a stone face can also reflect coldness.

blank look

A blank look can simply show confusion, whereas a stone face suggests firm control.

deadpan

Deadpan implies a straight face used for humor, which a stone face does not.

Opposites

Word family

stone-faced adjective

showing no emotion

stonily adverb

in a cold, unmoved way

stony adjective

cold and unfriendly

Commonly confused: stone face or stoneface?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “stone face”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words