dead pan
Blank-faced comic style
Deadpan describes a deliberately expressionless manner of delivery, especially in comedy.
A deadpan face shows no emotion while saying something absurd or funny, creating humor through the contrast: She delivered the joke completely deadpan.
The style relies on restraint—the performer acts as if unaware anything amusing has been said.
Also spelled as two words or hyphenated.
- blankWithout marks or content
- unemotionalLacking outward feeling
- phlegmaticUnemotionally calm, slow-reacting
- stone-facedRevealing no expression
- straight faceNeutral, emotionless expression
keeping a straight face · dry wit · bone dry · deadpan humor · impassive · stoic · poker-faced · subtle humor · expressionless · no expression · sarcasm · understated · irony · inscrutable · unresponsive · monotone · comedic timing · Buster Keaton
dead pananimated
Full of life, or drawn moving
expressive · emotive · lively · exuberant · demonstrative
dead panmugging
Robbery with violence
slapstick · broad comedy · cracking up · corpsing · breaking character
dead panover-the-top
Excessively dramatic or extravagant
hammy · broad · scenery-chewing · melodramatic · campy
dead, pan, deaden, deadly, deadened, deadening, deadness, panned, panning