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Glite Dictionary
to make a face

to make a face

18 3.2
Move parts of your face to show dislike, pain, or to be funny
  • idiom
translation icon : hacer una mueca
  • Everyone in my group made a face.
  • make a face, saying
  • Then I made a face

Examples

  • The dark, foamy brew was bitter, and she made a face.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Higgins thought I had made a face or something.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Did you just make a face?

    Bachelorette (2012)

  • "What is going on?" She made a face at the smell of smoke.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Jamie took a small sip of the wine, made a face, and put it down.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Then she made a face as if there was something bitter on her tongue.

    Academic text (2007)

  • Well, you're making a face like you got a problem.

    Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)

  • Casilda rolled her eyes and made a face, and both girls erupted with laughter.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • My fiance made a face and said isn't that what vegans eat?

  • She made a face when she tasted the sour lemon.

Synonyms

to frown
vsto make a face
160 1.0

To bring the eyebrows together and wrinkle the forehead to show dislike or concentration

uses wider facial contortions to express discomfort, not only brow movement
to pout
vsto make a face
41 3.4

To push out your lips to show that you are annoyed or disappointed

involves broader facial muscle contortions rather than just lip movement
to scowl
vsto make a face
33 4.1

To give an angry look to show you do not like something

is more general, including mild dislike or discomfort rather than anger
to grimace
vsto make a face
29 4.4

To twist your face to show pain, disgust, or a forced smile

is broader, covering many negative facial expressions not only ugly twists
to frown at
vsto make a face
16 2.3

Give someone a worried or angry look to show you do not like them

is similar but can occur without aiming the expression at someone
to pull a face
vsto make a face
  • Informal
1 5.5

Make a face to show dislike or discomfort

has the same meaning and use to show those feelings
to roll one's eyes
vsto make a face
  • Informal
3.7

To move your eyes away from someone to show you are annoyed or do not believe them

uses whole-face contortion to express discomfort, not only eye motion

Antonyms

to smile
∞ 1.0

To turn the corners of your mouth up to show happiness or friendliness

poker-faced
  • Informal
1 6.9

Not showing emotion to hide thoughts or feelings

How Expressive

to sneer
39 5.6
to grimace
29 4.4
to make a face
18 3.2
to scowl
33 4.1
to frown
160 1.0

Surface Forms

make a face infinitive
made a face past
made a face past participle
making a face present participle
makes a face third person singular

Morphology

make + a + face

The meaning 'to contort the muscles of the face to show an emotion' is directly and transparently derived from 'make' (to cause or produce) plus 'face' (the facial expression), following a common English pattern 'make + noun' meaning 'produce' (e.g., make a sound, make a mess). This compositional pattern is cross-linguistically common (e.g., French faire une grimace, Spanish poner cara), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

The verb make a face comes from the simple act of making your face show what you feel: people twist their mouth, scrunch their nose, or squint their eyes to show dislike, pain, or to be funny. So make a face means 'to move your face to show annoyance, dislike, or another feeling'.