rictus
Gaping mouth expression
Rictus is a fixed, gaping grimace—the mouth stretched open in a way that suggests horror, death, or unnatural strain.
The word appears most often in literary or medical contexts: His face was frozen in a rictus of terror.
A rictus grin looks more like a death mask than genuine happiness.
Broad, toothy smile
- sneerScornful expression
- snarlHostile vocal threat
- leerSuggestive sidelong look
- smirkPleased, superior smile
scowl · contortion · distortion · sardonic smile · wince · bared teeth · forced smile
Postmortem muscular rigidity
- corpseDeceased human body
- cadaverBody for dissection
- pallorUnhealthy facial whiteness
- deceasedNo longer living
mortuary · skull · skeletal · deathly · inanimate · exanimate · death mask · lifeless
Strict, thorough precision
- tetanusMuscle-stiffening bacterial disease
- spasmInvoluntary muscle contraction
- contractionReduction in size
- crampPainful muscle seizure
rigidity · stiffening · tension · tautness · lockjaw · fixed · frozen · paralysis
Distorted, bizarre figure
- ghastlyTerrifyingly horrible or pale
- hideousExtremely unpleasant to see
- macabreDisturbing, death-obsessed
- chillingCausing fear or cold
eerie · sinister · monstrous · frightening · unsettling · terrifying · nightmarish · bloodcurdling
grin
Broad, toothy smile
smirk · scowl · contortion · distortion · sardonic smile · wince · bared teeth · forced smile
rigor mortis
Postmortem muscular rigidity
deceased · mortuary · skull · skeletal · deathly · inanimate · exanimate · death mask · lifeless · frozen
rigor
Strict, thorough precision
- tetanusMuscle-stiffening bacterial disease
- spasmInvoluntary muscle contraction
- contractionReduction in size
cramp · rigidity · stiffening · tension · tautness · lockjaw · fixed · frozen · paralysis · muscular
mouth
Oral opening
wide · gaping · agape · yawning · cavernous · orifice · stretched · distended · mandible · bared
grotesque
Distorted, bizarre figure
- ghastlyTerrifyingly horrible or pale
- hideousExtremely unpleasant to see
- macabreDisturbing, death-obsessed
chilling · eerie · sinister · monstrous · frightening · unsettling · terrifying · nightmarish · bloodcurdling · spine-tingling
- bird beaksbeak, bill, mandible, hooked beak, long bill