expressionnoun
uk/ɪkˈspreʃ.ən/us/ɪkˈspreʃ.ən/expression noun (SHOWING)
B2 [ C or U ] the act of saying what you think or showing how you feel using words or actions:
He wrote her a poem as an expression of his love.
We've received a lot of expressions of support for our campaign.
Freedom of expression is a basic human right.
It's better to give expression to (= show) your anger, rather than hiding it.
formal His sadness at the death of his wife found expression (= was shown) in his music.
She plays the violin with great expression (= feeling).
B2 [ C ] the look on someone's face, showing what they feel or think:
I could tell from her expression that something serious had happened.
Mark always has such a miserable expression on his face.
More examples
- I could tell from his grim expression that the news was not good.
- He listened to the music with an expression of pure rapture on his face.
- She looked at him with a surprised expression on her face.
- Modernism seeks to find new forms of expression and rejects traditional or accepted ideas.
- In this role, Durante is able to give full expression to that wonderfully virile voice.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Expressing and asking opinions
- apothegm
- ask
- come out
- couch
- day
- editorialize
- far
- for my money idiom
- pronounce
- propound
- put
- put yourself across
- remark
- run
- run sth by sb
- screed
- soapbox
- sound off
- talk
- talk sth over
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Expressing and showing feelings
The head & face
expression noun (WORDS)
B2 [ C ] a word or group of words used in a particular situation or by particular people:
He uses a lot of unusual expressions.
"A can of worms" is an expression that means "a difficult situation".
More examples
- The expression "boy band" was coined in the 90s.
- There is no English equivalent for 'bon appetit' so we have adopted the French expression.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Linguistics: sentences & expressions
- anagram
- catchphrase
- cliché
- cliché-ridden
- coin
- compound sentence
- concessive clause
- declarative sentence
- figure of speech
- fronting
- idiom
- mission statement
- nugget
- phrasing
- proverb
- relative clause
- sentence
- simple sentence
- tail
- war cry
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expression noun (NUMBERS)
[ C ] in mathematics, a symbol or group of symbols that represent an amount:
4xy2 is an expression.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Mathematical symbols
- addition sign
- degree
- division sign
- equal sign
- foot
- minus
- multiplication sign
- pi
- placeholder
- plus
- point
- subtraction sign
- x
- y