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countenance

Noun
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A person’s face, especially its expression or appearance; it can also mean facial bearing that reveals mood, character, or emotion.

Detailed Definition
“Countenance” is a formal or literary word for the face, often emphasizing its visible expression. In the poem, the child’s earthly face is described as a temporary reflection of the divine face.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Awhile the visible countenance of Him” (Emily Dickinson) uses countenance for a divine face or presence; “Her countenance changed like weather over wheat” makes facial expression a landscape image; Shakespeare’s speakers often read a beloved’s countenance for concealed feeling; “The moon’s pale countenance looked down on roofs” personifies the moon
Additional Notes
The quoted word is a formal literary term for the face and is less familiar than the ordinary word “face.”; Found in the poem, After Our Likeness by Ada Cambridge
Also Known As
visage demeanor expression Face
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