as in grimace
a twisting of the facial features in disgust or disapproval
a moue of distaste at the display of bad manners
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of moue
In her trademark cat-eye glasses, with her bitter-lemon moue, Hoffman, as Moth, is comedy just standing there; Harada, as Mustardseed, a warmth machine.
—
New York Times, 24 Oct. 2021
Not just any moue, either, but a supermoue—a whole cultural attitude distilled into a single boffff.
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2020
Pennywise, who sometimes takes the form of a giant spider-like monster, and whose pouty moue can suddenly sprout rows of sharp, brownish fangs, both feeds and feeds upon ordinary human viciousness.
—New York Times, 3 Sep. 2019
New York Times, 24 Oct. 2021
Not just any moue, either, but a supermoue—a whole cultural attitude distilled into a single boffff.
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2020
Pennywise, who sometimes takes the form of a giant spider-like monster, and whose pouty moue can suddenly sprout rows of sharp, brownish fangs, both feeds and feeds upon ordinary human viciousness.
—New York Times, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for moue
Noun
-
Throughout baseball history, such collisions have been met mostly with grimaces and shrugs.—
Steve Henson,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2025
-
Monday’s developments were greeted with grimace around town.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
7 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Serve up in a stemmed glass, and garnish with a scowl, or perhaps a war story.—
Jeremy Repanich,
Robb Report,
11 July 2025
-
Balthazar, played in a hipster fade and with a puppy-dog scowl by Jaeden Martell, is a New York rich kid with a life coach and a divorced mother (Jennifer Ehle) who’s too busy throwing political cocktail parties to pay him much attention.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
10 June 2025
Noun
-
Beantown frowns at each breaking news sounder on talk radio or ESPN insider post on social media.—
Bill Speros,
Boston Herald,
2 July 2025
-
Jamie frowns and starts to twist a little on his barstool, turning to face the ocean — and away from me.—
Gabrielle Rockson,
People.com,
12 June 2025
Noun
-
Vásquez Lasso hit Montano in the mouth area, and Montano shot the officer in the head, arm and leg as children and others in a nearby playground took cover.—
Madeline Buckley,
Chicago Tribune,
14 July 2025
-
The kind guard in the lobby and my mother’s terrible, open mouth.—
Rebecca Chace
July 14,
Literary Hub,
14 July 2025
Noun
-
Which makes the Bills a playoff automatic — unless Josh Allen sits home and pouts.—
Nick Canepa,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 July 2025
-
Lips can get a bit of color too, via RMS Beauty’s Legendary Lip Oil packed with adaptogenic herbs, jojoba oil, vanilla extract, and bitter cherry seed oil to condition the pout.—
Kiana Murden,
Vogue,
16 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Moue.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/moue. Accessed 20 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share