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countenance.

Appearance, especially the features and expression of the face.

11 characters3 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈkaʊn.tə.nəns/UK, US/ˈkaʊnt.nəns/UK, US[kæũ̯n.tɪ̆.nəns]Australia
  1. Appearance, especially the features and expression of the face.

    countable · uncountable
  2. Favour; support; encouragement.

    countable · uncountable
  3. Superficial appearance; show; pretense.

    countable · obsolete · uncountable
  4. Calm facial expression, composure, self-control.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English contenaunce, countenaunce, from Anglo-Norman countenance and Old French contenance, from the present participle of contenir, or from Late Latin continentia, and therefore a doublet of continence.

verb/ˈkaʊn.tə.nəns/UK, US/ˈkaʊnt.nəns/UK, US[kæũ̯n.tɪ̆.nəns]Australia
  1. To tolerate, support, sanction, patronise or approve of something.

    transitive
    The cruel punishment was countenanced by the government, although it was not officially legal.
    I won't countenance other than compunctious semblances for such a grievous blunder.
Where this word comes from

From Middle English contenaunce, countenaunce, from Anglo-Norman countenance and Old French contenance, from the present participle of contenir, or from Late Latin continentia, and therefore a doublet of continence.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.