visage

IPA/ˈvɪzɪdʒ/
KK[vˈɪzədʒ]IPA/ˈvɪzɪdʒ/

visage — noun

  • visagesingular
  • visagesplural

1. someone's face, especially in formal or literary writing

1.nounC2
Definition

someone's face, especially in formal or literary writing

Example

The candle lit only half of Femi's tired visage in the doorway.

formal noun for a person's face

The bathroom mirror showed Hiro a pale visage after the night train.

collocation: a pale visage

Common collocations
  • pale visage
  • stern visage
  • tired visage
  • hide one's visage
Synonyms
  • face

    the normal everyday word and much more common in speech

  • countenance

    formal like visage, but often focuses more on visible expression

  • features

    usually refers to the parts or shape of the face rather than the whole face as a single image

Grammar Patterns

a pale / stern / tired visage

show / hide / turn one's visage

Usage Note

Mostly found in formal, literary, or slightly humorous writing rather than everyday conversation. Writers often choose it when they want to focus on a person's facial look or expression in a more dramatic way than the usual word 'face'.

Common Mistakes

Her visage looked tired after the flight.
Her face looked tired after the flight.
In everyday English, people usually say 'face'; 'visage' sounds formal or literary.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Visage, face, countenance, and features all relate to how someone looks, but they are not used in the same way. Face is the ordinary everyday word and fits almost any situation, from washing your face to recognizing a face in a crowd. Visage is much more formal or literary, and writers often choose it to sound dramatic or old-fashioned. Countenance is also formal, but it more strongly points to the expression someone shows, such as a cheerful or worried countenance. Features usually means the separate parts of the face, such as the eyes, nose, and mouth, or the overall shape they create. In normal conversation, face is the safest choice.

visage ↗face ↗countenance ↗features ↗

Common collocations

Phrases

  • a pale visage
  • a stern visage
  • hide one's visage

Adjectives

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

Visage came into English from Old French visage, meaning face or outward appearance. The French word grew from Latin visus, meaning sight or look, from the verb videre, to see. In modern English, visage survives mainly in formal or literary writing, where it usually means a person's face rather than the everyday word face.

First known use

14th century

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1