rictus

[ rik-tuhs ]

noun

, plural ric·tus, ric·tus·es.

1. the gape of the mouth of a bird.
2. the gaping or opening of the mouth.

rictus

/ ˈrɪktəs /

noun

1. the gap or cleft of an open mouth or beak
2. a fixed or unnatural grin or grimace, as in horror or death

Derived Forms

• ˈrictal, adjective

Other Words From

• rictal adjective
• sub·rictal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rictus¹

1750–60; < Latin: wide-open mouth, equivalent to rig-, variant stem of ringī to open the mouth wide + -tus suffix of v. action.

Word History and Origins

Origin of rictus¹

C18: from Latin, from ringī to gape

Example Sentences

Quayle’s stricken look — a rictus of shock and humiliation — spoke to the devastation of the rejoinder after which, it’s fair to say, his callow image never fully faded.

From Los Angeles Times

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.

From Los Angeles Times

It doesn’t take much for clowns to be creepy — the unnatural colors and rictus grins do the heavy lifting — an effect that’s been exploited by schlock horror for eons.

From New York Times

It’s a twisted rictus that, had my mother seen it on the day of filming, she would have surely intervened, worried that Goth’s face would stay that way.

From Los Angeles Times

With her red-lipped rictus grin, her eyes that can beam with earnestness one minute and deaden with murderous resignation the next, Goth makes a sublime demon, but she’s also a creature of irreducible pathos.

From Los Angeles Times