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

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

Gen. Ken Paxton ever told her personally she couldn’t receive an abortion, Dennard, icy cool, returns the jab with a deadpan, “You know, I never thought to ask him.”

From Los Angeles Times

As “What We Do in the Shadows” kicks off its sixth and final season we’re reminded of how much we’ll miss Proksch’s deadpan antics, and how closely he captures one of the biggest perils of human interaction.

From Salon

Dimoldenberg, in her true awkward self, responded with a deadpan “Yeah.”

From Salon

Related Words

• impassive
• stony