10 English Phrases for Facial Expressions

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#1 – She was beaming.

“Beaming” means the person has a big smile – it means they are extremely happy!

#2 – The kids were smiling from ear to ear.

“Smiling from ear to ear” is another expression to describe a big smile.

#3 – He looked puzzled.

The word “puzzled” means a little bit confused.

#4 – She grinned.

To grin is to smile; however, a “smile” is always happy, whereas a grin can be used with other emotions: like sheepish grin (the person is embarrassed) or an evil grin (the person is malicious or mischievous).

#5 – She winced when the doctor gave her an injection.

To wince is to get a quick expression of pain on your face. You can wince because of physical pain – as in this example of receiving an injection – or emotional pain/embarrassment, for example: “I winced when my son asked a fat woman if she was pregnant.”

#6 – She gave me a dirty look.

A “dirty look” isn’t something offensive – it is looking at the person in an angry way. Other ways to say this include:

  • “She glared at me.”
  • “She glowered at me.”
  • “She looked daggers at me.”

#7 – My son pouted when I made him turn off the video game.

To “pout” is to put your lips out to show that you are annoyed/unhappy about the situation. You can also say a person was “pouting” if they spent a period of time being unhappy or resentful about something.

English phrases for facial expressions
This girl is pouting

#8 – After working on the computer for 10 hours straight, his eyes were glazed over.

If your eyes are “glazed over,” it means that they are unfocused, as if you weren’t seeing anything. People’s eyes often glaze over after looking at a screen for a long time (as in the example), after drinking too much alcohol, or when they are extremely bored.

#9 – Why the long face?

You can ask this question to somebody who appears unhappy. It is a playful way to ask them why they are not happy.

#10 – Her expression was unreadable.

Use this phrase when the person’s face is neutral and doesn’t reveal what they are thinking or what emotion they are feeling.

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