Bambi look

8.8

A look with wide childlike eyes that shows innocence

noun

Informal

: mirada de Bambi

She gave him a Bambi look that melted his heart.

Examples

With her Bambi look, she convinced everyone she was telling the truth.
The actress is famous for her Bambi look and gentle manner onscreen.
He gave the teacher a Bambi look when asked about the missing homework.
Do you think that Bambi look works in her favor?
He gave the teacher a Bambi look when asked about the missing homework.
With her Bambi look, she convinced everyone she was telling the truth.
The actress is famous for her Bambi look and gentle manner onscreen.

Synonyms

baby face

vsBambi look

7 3.5

A face that makes someone look younger and more innocent than they are

is the same meaning but written as one word

babyface

vsBambi look

1 5.6

A person whose face looks much younger than their age

is the same meaning but written as two separate words

Antonyms

cynical

208 6.5

Not trusting people to have good intentions and expecting them to act for themselves

jaded

40 6.3

Feeling bored and tired after doing or seeing something too often

How Innocent

dewy-eyed

Informal

1 7.4

Bambi look

Informal

8.8

wide-eyed

27 3.4

dogface expression

8.4

Surface Forms

Bambi look singular

Bambi looks plural

Morphology

Bambi + look

The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'Bambi' (a culturally salient, wide-eyed innocent fawn) with 'look' (facial expression): a 'Bambi look' straightforwardly denotes an innocent, childlike expression. This is a simple referential metaphor that learners who know both constituents can readily infer, and similar animal-based innocence metaphors occur cross-linguistically.

Etymology

Bambi look may come from the young deer Bambi in a famous film, who has very big, wide eyes and a gentle, innocent face. So, when someone gives a Bambi look, they appear 'innocent' or 'naive', and people are more likely to trust them or believe they did not do something wrong.