How to Use straight face in a Sentence

straight face

noun
  • She lied with a straight face.
  • The students quickly put on straight faces as the teacher walked into the room.
  • Smith said with a straight face.
    — Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 19 Sep. 2025
  • Clooney played along, mouthing back to her with a straight face.
    — Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 12 Jan. 2026
  • At first, most of them at least tried to keep a straight face.
    — Mike Finger, San Antonio Express-News, 5 Oct. 2022
  • How could anyone say that with a straight face and believe it.
    — Fox News, 3 June 2018
  • No one can argue with a straight face that Franken got due process.
    — Willie Brown, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 Dec. 2017
  • Most of its competitors can’t say that—at least not with a straight face.
    — Adam Hurly, Robb Report, 8 May 2024
  • Jeong could be seen with his arms crossed and a straight face as Giuliani spoke.
    — Ryan Gajewski, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Apr. 2022
  • In the clip, Swift gave a straight face, pursed her lips, and took a sip from her glass of wine.
    — Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 10 Jan. 2024
  • All of these flourishes are done with an admirable straight face.
    — Brian Feldman, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2024
  • With what must have been a herculean effort, Weaver kept a straight face.
    — Frank Bruni Photographs By Craig McDean, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2020
  • Leavitt then changed her expression to a straight face.
    — Liza Esquibias, PEOPLE, 2 Oct. 2025
  • Whitney then changed her expression to a straight face.
    — Brianne Tracy, PEOPLE, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Then there is the film’s dark humor, which Karpman scores with a straight face.
    — Tim Greiving, Los Angeles Times, 14 Nov. 2023
  • Now that the initial hype has settled down, nobody makes that claim with a straight face.
    — Alex Hutchinson, Outside, 25 Mar. 2026
  • Boxer shorts on full display, the guys couldn’t even pretend to keep a straight face!
    — Andrea Barber, Good Housekeeping, 15 Nov. 2019
  • All of these sentiments–and more–were true and could not be denied with a straight face.
    — Louise Peddell, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2023
  • Still, those rather good actors do indeed keep a straight face, as does the film overall.
    — Dennis Harvey, Variety, 27 Oct. 2022
  • Then, the first rule is not to join in the laughter, but to keep a perfectly straight face.
    — Judith Martin, Sun Sentinel, 15 June 2026
  • The pre-teen keeps a straight face for the picture while flashing her bright blue eyes at the camera.
    — Georgia Slater, PEOPLE.com, 8 June 2022
  • There was something about the scene where Jake and I just could not keep a straight face.
    — Devan Coggan, EW.com, 1 July 2019
  • Martin, who tends to be more stoic, did his best to stick to the subject and keep a straight face.
    — Adam Zuvanich, San Antonio Express-News, 22 Apr. 2018
  • After boarding, the Full House star shows off his best straight face.
    — Marina Watts, PEOPLE, 30 Jan. 2026
  • Campos keeps a straight face and lighthearted tone in the office.
    — Los Angeles Times, 9 Dec. 2021
  • Despite your opinion of Sanders, this is hard to argue against with a straight face.
    — Vincent Frank, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025
  • Phillips kept a straight face, read the complaint and declined to answer any questions.
    — NBC News, 17 Sep. 2021
  • But others are saying that with a straight face — that only gay actors should be cast in gay roles.
    — Scott D. Pierce, The Salt Lake Tribune, 11 Dec. 2020
  • In the following snaps, the pair opened their mouths slightly and donned straight faces at the camera.
    — Gabrielle Rockson, Peoplemag, 18 July 2024
  • Luca smiles for the camera while Banks has her eyes closed and Mae keeps a straight face.
    — Georgia Slater, Peoplemag, 27 Sep. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'straight face.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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