deadpan

[ ded-pan ]

adjective

1. marked by or accomplished with a careful pretense of seriousness or calm detachment; impassive or expressionless:

   deadpan humor.

2. displaying no emotional or personal involvement:

   a deadpan style.

adverb

1. in a deadpan manner:

   He spoke his lines utterly deadpan.

verb (used with or without object)

, dead·panned, dead·pan·ning.

1. to behave or perform in a deadpan manner.

noun

1. a face showing no expression.
2. a style of comedy that relies on the comedian's maintaining such a face.

deadpan

/ ˈdɛdˌpæn /

adjective

1. with a deliberately emotionless face or manner

   deadpan humour

Other Words From

• dead panner noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of deadpan¹

An Americanism dating back to 1925–30; dead + pan ¹ (in the slang sense “face”)

Example Sentences

“Losers, look in the mirror,” Maher proclaimed in his monologue, drawing a deadpan crowd reaction.

From Salon

“It wasn’t even a good punch,” Rams receiver Cooper Kupp deadpanned Friday.

From Los Angeles Times

He got more lighthearted as the band settled in, tussling with Louis Tomlinson in onstage water fights and deadpanning in a banana costume on a European tour.

From Los Angeles Times

McLeod has a dry, slightly deadpan sense of humor and a gentle voice that can sometimes get lost in ambient traffic noise.

From Los Angeles Times

“Well, that was awful,” Sell deadpans to his coach, Andrew Mateljan, dripping sweat after a particularly intense set of modified push-ups.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• impassive
• stony