: marked by an impassive matter-of-fact manner, style, or expression
a deadpan comedy
: in a deadpan manner : without emotion : blankly
Larry David started out in the 1970s doing stand-up in comedy clubs such as Catch a Rising Star, where if he came out on stage and did not like the audience he would stare at them deadpan … and walk off.—
Lee Siegel
Lee Siegel"A sex and violence weekend?" "That's two weekend ideas, actually," Derbin replies deadpan.—Judith Miller
Judith Miller1
: a deadpan manner of behavior or presentation
2
: a completely expressionless face
Synonyms
Examples of deadpan in a Sentence
Adjective
he delivered the joke in such a deadpan voice that we thought at first that he was serious
Noun
He tells the joke in his best deadpan.
She's a master of deadpan.
Verb
“I went back to doing push-ups again, and this time I almost completed one,” he deadpanned.
Recent Examples on the Web
Selome Hailu, Variety, 19 Jan. 2023
Wet Leg, with its deadpan wit and post-punk guitar sound, loosely resembles the B-52s, if Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson had led the band.
—John Seabrook, The New Yorker, 16 Jan. 2023
Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2024
If that sounds less than promising, even for a deadpan Romanian slice-of-life tragicomedy, go ahead and make the mistake of skipping this one.
—Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 3 Dec. 2024
Larry Fitzmaurice, Vulture, 8 Apr. 2024
Benavidez deadpans into the a house microphone.
—José M. Romero, The Arizona Republic, 26 Mar. 2023
See all Example Sentences for deadpan 
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.
Adjective
Working with high ranking creatives and executives including Douglas Fairbanks, Joseph M. Schenck and Edward F. Cline, he became known for performing exaggerated stunts and physical comedy with a deadpan facial expression.
—Selome Hailu, Variety, 19 Jan. 2023
Wet Leg, with its deadpan wit and post-punk guitar sound, loosely resembles the B-52s, if Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson had led the band.
—John Seabrook, The New Yorker, 16 Jan. 2023
Noun
The real history of that corpse is a true-in-a-way-that’s-unbelievable yarn, heightened by Yazbek and Della Penna’s concisely deadpan music and lyrics.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2024
If that sounds less than promising, even for a deadpan Romanian slice-of-life tragicomedy, go ahead and make the mistake of skipping this one.
—Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 3 Dec. 2024
Verb
Larry deadpans when Jeff arrives in full cowboy attire.
—Larry Fitzmaurice, Vulture, 8 Apr. 2024
Benavidez deadpans into the a house microphone.
—José M. Romero, The Arizona Republic, 26 Mar. 2023
See all Example Sentences for deadpan
Articles Related to deadpan
Dictionary Entries Near deadpan
Cite this Entry
“Deadpan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deadpan. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share