Examples 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
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
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, 12 July 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
Coverage of his personal appearances focused on his obvious discomfort in meeting with strangers and his fruitless efforts to laugh or even crack a smile, which tended to produce only a hideous facial rictus.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2024
Portman and Moore don’t look like average women but resemble drag queens specializing in stealthy passion and uneasy self-control — one a professional parasite and the other a pathetic sociopath, each fronting rictus grins.
—Armond White, National Review, 10 Jan. 2024
Charles is all neurosis and shame, hunched over, face frozen in a rictus of repulsion at his own existence, worried constantly about rejection.
—Isaac Butler, The New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2023
Jesse David Fox, Vulture, 17 Dec. 2024
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, 12 July 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
Coverage of his personal appearances focused on his obvious discomfort in meeting with strangers and his fruitless efforts to laugh or even crack a smile, which tended to produce only a hideous facial rictus.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2024
Portman and Moore don’t look like average women but resemble drag queens specializing in stealthy passion and uneasy self-control — one a professional parasite and the other a pathetic sociopath, each fronting rictus grins.
—Armond White, National Review, 10 Jan. 2024
Charles is all neurosis and shame, hunched over, face frozen in a rictus of repulsion at his own existence, worried constantly about rejection.
—Isaac Butler, The New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rictus
Noun
-
Peter Sarsgaard was turning his character into a despicable little weasel through a masterclass of smirks.Brian Grubb, Vulture, 23 Aug. 2024
-
Hadid, in response, cocks her head thoughtfully, stares at Travis, and gives a little smirk.Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 8 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
One approach, adopted by Lynda Benglis, Urs Fischer, and Christopher Wool, involves digitally capturing a chance form—a squeeze of clay, a snarl of wire—then enlarging that scan to monumental proportions, both dramatizing and satirizing the superpowers that artists now have at their disposal.Glenn Adamson, ARTnews.com, 16 Dec. 2024
-
Another video, this one with 2.5 million views, manages to blow FromSoftware’s three-minute gameplay trailer out into a 40-minute dissection of each and every look, snarl, or skeleton.Ashley Bardhan, Vulture, 17 June 2024
Noun
-
Donning false teeth and a homicidal sneer, Dafoe embodied pure evil in Lynch’s crazed road movie, starring opposite Laura Dern and Nicolas Cage.Chris Vognar, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2024
-
Admonitions and sneers came from her pony face, a face chock-full of wrath.Henry Van Dyke, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2024
Noun
-
This Max Max style road race never fails to elicit gasps of wonder and growls of friendly frustration when the dice come up in an unexpected way.Rob Wieland, Forbes, 7 Dec. 2024
-
With quarterback Fernando Mendoza sidelined by an overnight illness, the Bears had no growl on offense at No. 9 SMU, trailing 21-0 at halftime on the way to a 38-6 defeat in their regular-season finale.Jeff Faraudo, The Mercury News, 30 Nov. 2024
Noun
-
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
-
Al Capone lived as a schoolyard bully, died in a simper with a brain et by syphilis, and lives on through eternity as a cigarillo mascot and gimme film role for dark-haired white actors who want a chance to really chew some scenery.Paul Dailing, Chicago Reader, 21 Dec. 2017
Thesaurus Entries Near rictus
Cite this Entry
“Rictus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rictus. Accessed 7 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share