visage

vis·age
V4I1S1A1G2E1
/ˈvɪz.ɪd͡ʒ/

noun

Countenance; one's face.

“Snowflakes fell gently across the mountain's rugged visage.”

Meanings

nounvisage (plural visages)

plural visages

  1. Countenance; one's face.

    Lying on the floor was a dead man, in evening dress, with a knife in his heart. He was withered, wrinkled, and loathsome of visage. It was not till they had examined the rings that they recognized who it was.

    1891, Oscar Wilde, chapter XX, in The Picture of Dorian Gray, London; New York, N.Y.: Ward Lock & Co., →OCLC, page 334

    Synonyms: boat, complexion, countenance, chevy chase, dial, ecaf, eek, George Best

  2. The appearance or aspect of something, especially when expressive or distinctive.

    Snowflakes fell gently across the mountain's rugged visage.

    1 more example

    [T]he monſter, rouſed by the noiſe, ſtarted forward, preſented ſuch a viſage of horror, and raiſed ſuch a hideous roar, that the hearts of the bold were contracted, and the nerves of the valiant unſtrung.

    1769, Firishta, translated by Alexander Dow, Tales translated from the Persian of Inatulla of Delhi, volume I, Dublin: P. and W. Wilson et al., page 6

Synonyms & antonyms

More synonyms by meaning

nounthe human face (‘kisser’ and ‘smiler’ and ‘mug’ are informal terms for ‘face’ and ‘phiz’ is British)

Broader
facehuman face

nounthe appearance conveyed by a person's face

Broader
appearancevisual aspect

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinvīsus“appearance, sight”
  2. Vulgar Latin*vīsāticum
  3. Anglo-Normanvisage
  4. Middle Englishvisage
  5. Englishvisage

From Middle English visage, from Anglo-Norman visage, from Vulgar Latin *vīsāticum, derived from Latin vīsus (“appearance, sight”), derived from vidēre (“to see”). Compare vision. See -age (“noun suffix”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic مَلَامِح, سِحْنَة
  • مَلَامِح (malāmiḥ)countenance; appearance; face
  • سِحْنَة (siḥna)countenance; appearance; face
Bulgarian лице, образ
  • лице (lice)countenance; appearance; face
  • образ (obraz)countenance; appearance; face
  • изражение (izraženie)countenance; appearance; face
Esperanto aspekto
  • aspektocountenance; appearance; face
German Gesicht
  • Gesichtcountenance; appearance; face
Hungarian arc
  • arccountenance; appearance; face
Indonesian roman, rupa muka
  • romancountenance; appearance; face
  • rupa mukacountenance; appearance; face
Latin vultus, facies
  • vultuscountenance; appearance; face
  • faciescountenance; appearance; face
Persian چهره, رخ
  • چهره (čehre)countenance; appearance; face
  • رخ (rox)countenance; appearance; face
  • رخسار (roxsâr)countenance; appearance; face
  • سیما (simâ)countenance; appearance; face
Polish oblicze
  • obliczecountenance; appearance; face
Russian выраже́ние лица
  • выраже́ние лица (vyražénije lica)countenance; appearance; face
Spanish viso
  • visocountenance; appearance; face
Cite this entry
APA

visage. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/visage

MLA

“visage.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/visage. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “visage,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/visage.

Source: visage on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.