Sir Walter ScottArnold BennettJane Austen
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Let’s face it: the countenance familiar to modern speakers does not bear an obvious resemblance to its Latin root continēre, meaning “to hold together” (a root it shares with contain). But the path between continēre and countenance becomes clearer when we think of the figurative “holding together” present in the idea of restraint. When countenance was first used in English (having traveled from Latin through Anglo-French) it referred to a person’s appearance or behavior—their demeanor—which is a product of restraint, or the lack thereof. And from “demeanor” it was just a hop, skip, and a jump to “facial expression.” A few centuries after that development, in the late 16th century, countenance faced a new task head-on—use as a verb meaning “to extend approval or toleration to.”
Synonyms
Examples of countenance in a Sentence
John Updike, The Afterlife, 1994
You could see it in his frame and deportment … a beaming countenance, expansive salutations, a warm handshake …
—Simon Schama, Granta, Autumn 1990
All, all are kind to me but their tones fall strangely on my ear & their countenances meet mine not like home faces …
—Emily Dickinson 17 Feb. 1848,
in Selected Letters, (1914) 1986
Before receiving him, Henry had so possessed himself that no one could guess from his countenance with what sentiments he remembered the young king.
—Amy Kelly, Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings, 1950
The photograph showed his somber countenance.
a pleasant countenance that puts visitors at ease
Verb
But there are only two logical choices … . If you can't countenance the first, you have to accept the second.
—Anna Quindlen, Newsweek, 6 Aug. 2007
… the constellation of family emotions—love, obedience, rivalry, repression—can turn a family into a moral system of its own in which even the greatest horrors can be countenanced in the name of loyalty and love …
—Scott Turow, Times Literary Supplement, 15 Mar. 1991
They disapproved of the marriage, and could not be expected to countenance it.
—Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, 1891
I don't countenance such behavior in children of any age.
countenanced the delays and inconveniences of traveling by air with good grace
Jackson Davidow, ARTnews.com, 3 Sep. 2019
Instead, the Captain’s countenance oscillates between passivity and pathos, with none of the shrewd intellect expected of a spy.
—Terry Nguyen, Vulture, 5 May 2024
The Week Uk, theweek, 2 Nov. 2024
Any concessions or willingness to countenance his aggression has simply whetted his appetite to go further.
—Stephan Kieninger / Made By History, TIME, 30 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for countenance 
Dictionary Entries Near countenance
Cite this Entry
“Countenance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/countenance. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
countenance
1 of 2 noun
countenance
2 of 2 verb
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