deadpan

1 of 4

adjective

dead·​pan ˈded-ˌpan How to pronounce deadpan (audio)
: marked by an impassive matter-of-fact manner, style, or expression
a deadpan comedy

deadpan

2 of 4

adverb

: in a deadpan manner : without emotion : blankly
Larry David started out in the 1970s doing stand-up in comedy clubs such as Catch a Rising Star, where if he came out on stage and did not like the audience he would stare at them deadpan … and walk off.Lee Siegel
"A sex and violence weekend?" "That's two weekend ideas, actually," Derbin replies deadpan.Judith Miller

deadpan

3 of 4

noun

1
: a deadpan manner of behavior or presentation
2
: a completely expressionless face

deadpan

4 of 4

verb

deadpanned; deadpanning; deadpans

transitive verb

: to express in a deadpan manner
deadpanner noun

Examples of deadpan in a Sentence

Adjective he delivered the joke in such a deadpan voice that we thought at first that he was serious Noun He tells the joke in his best deadpan. She's a master of deadpan. Verb “I went back to doing push-ups again, and this time I almost completed one,” he deadpanned.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Working with high ranking creatives and executives including Douglas Fairbanks, Joseph M. Schenck and Edward F. Cline, he became known for performing exaggerated stunts and physical comedy with a deadpan facial expression. Selome Hailu, Variety, 19 Jan. 2023 Wet Leg, with its deadpan wit and post-punk guitar sound, loosely resembles the B-52s, if Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson had led the band. John Seabrook, The New Yorker, 16 Jan. 2023 This Place Rules, 25-year-old Andrew Callaghan has amassed millions of fans as a goofy, deadpan interlocutor, highlighting the absurdities of modern culture. Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 10 Jan. 2023 With the space closing, his final show there was a mix of deadpan and melancholy notes. Photographs By Nina Westervelt, New York Times, 31 Dec. 2022 Duane sets the precedent for what will turn out to be a lengthy comedy career for Walken, delivering wildly ridiculous dialogue with a deadpan expression and at point blank range. Joe Tobal, EW.com, 9 Dec. 2022 Doesn’t the Television Academy see the deadpan delivery and cool millennial style Selena Gomez constantly brings to the table? Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 12 Sep. 2022 This deadpan dramedy from Finnish director and writer Aki Kaurismäki could be the ultimate anti-Christmas movie. Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Dec. 2022 During episode four, young Wednesday, played with perfect deadpan glee by Jenna Ortega, dominates the dance floor at her boarding school Nevermore Academy’s annual Rave ‘N Ball. cleveland, 19 Dec. 2022
Noun
The humor is deadpan and the fights feel deadly in a way that channels a very 21st century, post-John Wick style of snap, crackle and pow. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 9 Mar. 2024 Waybill stood amid a swirling gale of groovy hard rock created by the other four men onstage and uttered the quizzical, comical lines with a kind of perplexed deadpan delivery. Jim Harrington, The Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2024 The strategy of taking on a deadpan, laconic persona for interviews isn’t entirely new. Anna Tingley, Variety, 21 Feb. 2024 Aubrey Plaza is in her element here, her blunt practicality and signature deadpan delivery serving as the perfect stand-in for an audience whose dreams of hitting milestones like home ownership and retirement have been deadened by current economic realities. EW.com, 18 Jan. 2024 His deadpan description of the technology was a critique of a government that could not be openly condemned. Jonathon Keats, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 His deadpan performances in The Office quickly made MacIntosh’s Keith an audience favorite. Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Feb. 2024 Then there’s her public persona: the acerbic, witty, deadpan, Ellen-ruining, lime-lying Dakota that has, in her own way, become America’s sweetheart. Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 16 Feb. 2024 Bosa is economical with his words and has a deliberate delivery that borders on deadpan. Jerry McDonald, The Mercury News, 9 Feb. 2024
Verb
Benavidez deadpans into the a house microphone. José M. Romero, The Arizona Republic, 26 Mar. 2023 Audiences catch a glimpse of this version—the real Quinta—whenever Janine shoots the camera a fourth-wall-breaking, deadpan aside on Abbott’s mockumentary-style set. ELLE, 13 Apr. 2022 Would the British public, used to deadpan interviews or excessively comedic conversations, enjoy Oprah-style interviews? Ronke Lawal, Fortune, 1 Dec. 2021 Those comments were typically Tuukka: deadpan and dry. BostonGlobe.com, 11 June 2021 The prize, Brady deadpans, is two weeks in Dayton, Ohio, which the 51-year-old concedes sounds a little like a Vaudeville punchline. Nancy Shohet West, BostonGlobe.com, 20 Feb. 2020 Grant deadpans of the annual invitation for a Love Actually reunion. vanityfair.com, 17 Mar. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'deadpan.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1928, in the meaning defined above

Adverb

1933, in the meaning defined above

Noun

circa 1930, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb

circa 1942, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of deadpan was circa 1928

Dictionary Entries Near deadpan

Cite this Entry

“Deadpan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deadpan. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

deadpan

noun
dead·​pan
ˈded-ˌpan
: a face that shows no emotion
deadpan adjective or adverb

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