unspeaking
- adjective
- /ʌnˈspiːkɪŋ/
:
inexpresivo
- He gave her an unspeaking look that made his feelings hard to read.
Examples
-
Her unspeaking face revealed nothing about her true thoughts.
-
Her face remained unspeaking throughout the entire meeting.
-
The child sat unspeaking in the corner, not reacting to anything around him.
-
The unspeaking crowd watched the performance in awe.
-
The child sat unspeaking in the corner, not reacting to anything around him.
-
Her unspeaking face revealed nothing about her true thoughts.
-
Her face remained unspeaking throughout the entire meeting.
Synonyms
397
1.0
Not speaking when people expect an answer
61
3.1
Unable to speak for a short time because you feel very surprised or shocked
20
4.1
Not using speech, often shown by a look or gesture
11
4.4
Having a face or way of acting that shows no feeling
11
4.4
Not showing strong feelings
1
6.0
Not using spoken words, for example a silent actor or someone using sign language
Does not show feelings openly to other people
Antonyms
How Expressive
Surface Forms
Morphology
unspeaking = speaking (semi-transparent) = un + speak + ing
The form is transparently built from speaking with the negative prefix un-.
Etymology
Unspeaking comes from the prefix un- ('not') and speaking from speak ('to say words'). A helpful way to remember this sense is to think of an unspeaking face as having no words or visible feeling, like being 'speechless', so the face looks expressionless.