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
The entire final sequence, which sees Carter, with a rictus grin, slaughtering his wife in the kitchen, envisions the self-destruction of the nuclear family.
—Beatrice Loayza, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2025
When Martin dies in class after getting frightened in a dream, the sheet is accidentally pulled off of his gurney to reveal his death rictus.
—Jesse David Fox, Vulture, 17 Dec. 2024
McAvoy’s gift for a rictus grin and a swaggering machismo that eases you into feeling comfortable, only to twist on a 180 into pure psychopathy, is well-played here.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 10 Sep. 2024
In its promos and trailers, Neon has deftly concealed what Cage’s character — a basement dweller who lives for the devil and has stringy, white hair and a rictus grin — actually looks like.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 8 July 2024
These include a chocolate-brown safe about five feet tall that reveals itself to be full of bobbleheads, the tottering rictus of Suns-era Stephon Marbury peering out at me from the dark.
—Giri Nathan, Vulture, 22 Mar. 2024
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
The entire final sequence, which sees Carter, with a rictus grin, slaughtering his wife in the kitchen, envisions the self-destruction of the nuclear family.
—Beatrice Loayza, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2025
When Martin dies in class after getting frightened in a dream, the sheet is accidentally pulled off of his gurney to reveal his death rictus.
—Jesse David Fox, Vulture, 17 Dec. 2024
McAvoy’s gift for a rictus grin and a swaggering machismo that eases you into feeling comfortable, only to twist on a 180 into pure psychopathy, is well-played here.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 10 Sep. 2024
In its promos and trailers, Neon has deftly concealed what Cage’s character — a basement dweller who lives for the devil and has stringy, white hair and a rictus grin — actually looks like.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 8 July 2024
These include a chocolate-brown safe about five feet tall that reveals itself to be full of bobbleheads, the tottering rictus of Suns-era Stephon Marbury peering out at me from the dark.
—Giri Nathan, Vulture, 22 Mar. 2024
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
Noun
-
Severe storms along the southeast coast Monday have also caused snarls for travelers, with over 6,300 flights within, into, or out of the US delayed Monday, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.—
Mary Gilbert,
CNN Money,
7 Apr. 2025
-
The animals’ golden-brown fur is matted with blood, their muzzles locked in an eternal snarl.—
Cecilia Rodriguez,
Forbes,
6 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Despite the show's ruminations revolving around Dorian's ego, there is no vanity in this performance where Snook sweats, sneers, and dashes across stage.—
Shania Russell,
EW.com,
28 Mar. 2025
-
One is Giovanni Battista Moroni’s Portrait of a Woman (ca. 1575), in which a leery-eyed woman stares down at her viewer, pressing her lips into the faintest of sneers.—
Alex Greenberger,
ARTnews.com,
26 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Some Trump fans love Musk but can't give up the growl of an engine.—
Camila Domonoske,
NPR,
13 Mar. 2025
-
Foxes use a variety of calls, including barks, howls, yaps, and growls.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
4 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Sandoval, in comparison, sneers and simpers to no success whatsoever; his bad behavior, on and off The Traitors, yields nothing.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
20 Feb. 2025
-
Today’s announcement marks the emergence of a new GE, a high-tech industrial GE — simper, stronger, a more focused company at the core.—
Jon Chesto,
BostonGlobe.com,
26 June 2018
Cite this Entry
“Rictus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rictus. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share