unexpressive
- adjective
- /ˌʌnɪkˈsprɛsɪv/
- During the meeting, her unexpressive demeanor made it difficult to gauge her opinions.
- unexpressive and expressive
- unexpressive performances
- unexpressive playing
Examples
-
At the physical exam, the patient has an unexpressive face and difficulty walking, and a continuous movement of the tip of the first digit over the tip of the second digit of the left hand is seen at rest.
Academic text (2017) -
Her unexpressive delivery made the poem even sillier, and she was quite a hit.
Fiction book (1994) -
None of this is to say that either seems like a cold man or an unexpressive one.
Blog text (13) -
Over dinner that night, they smiled coolly again from opposite ends of the terrace, unexpressive northerners.
Fiction book (1998) -
His face was unexpressive, giving no indication of his thoughts or feelings.
-
Despite the good news, he remained unexpressive, showing little reaction to the announcement.
Synonyms
Feeling like you have no feelings inside
Not showing emotion or personal involvement
Having a face or way of acting that shows no feeling
Not showing any feeling on the face or in the voice
Not showing feelings on the face or in the voice
Not showing strong feelings
A way of speaking that shows no feeling, often to be funny
Not showing emotion to hide thoughts or feelings
Having little feeling in the face or voice
A person who shows no emotion in the face or voice
Showing no feelings on the face or in actions
Not showing any emotion on the face
Not showing much feeling
Does not show feelings openly to other people
Antonyms
How Expressive
Surface Forms
Morphology
unexpressive = expressive (transparent) = un + express + ive
Productive negation 'un-' applied to the adjective 'expressive' yields the predictable meaning 'not showing emotion', so the relation is directly derivable.
Etymology
Unexpressive combines un- meaning 'not' with express meaning 'to show', the same root found in expression, so it simply means 'not showing feelings'.