impassiveim‧pas‧sive /ɪmˈpæsɪv/ adjective 
Her impassive face showed no reaction at all.—impassively adverb: The children studied him impassively.—impassivity /ˌɪmpæˈsɪvəti/ noun [uncountable]
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Her impassive face showed no sign of reaction to the verdict.
- Mr Deacon remained impassive throughout the performance.
- Ramirez's face was impassive as the judge spoke.
- Russell struggled to keep an impassive face as she continued.
- The defendant remained impassive as the judge announced the guilty verdict.
- He had quit talking to Tregoning and was listening, as impassive as, the manager himself.
- Rincewind looked up at a number of impassive, upside down faces.
- Taller, wider in the shoulder, clumsily assembled, with a craggy, impassive face.
- The Direktor thought of Madge Grimsilk's totally impassive face and personality.
- Their eyes are on the pans of fish and the basket of loaves, but their faces are impassive.
- They in turn had sat impassive as the scoreboard.
- Two impassive cops in shiny black raincoats levelled guns like the Gestapo rehearsing for a massacre.
Longman Language Activatora face that does not show any feelings or opinions
· Oswini was watching her with expressionless eyes.· Terry's face was expressionless as he listened to the report.
showing no emotion, interest, or understanding in your expression, for example because you are bored, or have not been paying attention to what is being said: · Maria could tell by the blank look in my eyes that I didn't understand.· The children's faces were blank with sleepiness.
deliberately showing no humour in your expression, even though what you are saying or doing is meant as a joke: · "We're out of gas, so I guess you'll have to walk home," he said, giving me a deadpan expression.
someone who has an inscrutable expression shows no emotion or reaction, so it is impossible to guess what they are thinking or feeling: · She looked for some response, but Jean's expression remained inscrutable.· The inscrutable gaze of the palace guards made me a little nervous.
someone who is poker-faced does not show at all what they are thinking or feeling, either because they do not want other people to know or because they disapprove of something: · Not even Will Rogers could make the poker-faced President laugh.· Albert, normally poker faced, wore a look of shock.
not showing any emotion, especially in a situation where you would normally expect someone to be sad, shocked, upset, etc: · Russell struggled to keep an impassive face as she continued.· The defendant remained impassive as the judge announced the guilty verdict.
not showing your feelings not showing your feelings: · Police were shocked at the unemotional way the murderer described the killings.· Pat's father was a distant, unemotional man who couldn't really talk to his children.
not showing any feelings and especially not showing friendliness, humour, or pleasure: · She accused me of being cold and uncaring towards her.· The officers were cold and aloof in their dealings with other ranks.· The English are often unfairly stereotyped as cold, reserved people.
not showing the feelings that people usually show in an upsetting situation, because you have to do a job or because you really have no feelings about the situation: · His words were harsh and clinical -- "I don't love you any more. It is over. I am leaving you.''
showing no emotion when you are talking about something that is very frightening, embarrassing etc: · We were surprised at the matter-of-fact way Judith described her husband's death.· A spokesman listed the casualties in a detached, matter-of-fact tone of voice.· The condom advertising campaign is going to be very straightforward and as matter-of-fact as possible.
trying not to react in an emotional way, so that you can do your job properly or make the correct decisions about something: · You'll never be a good lawyer until you learn to be more detached.· Witnessing all the pain and suffering, it is sometimes difficult for relief workers to remain detached.
not allowing your feelings to show on your face, so that it is very difficult for people to guess how you feel: · Mr Deacon remained impassive throughout the performance.· Her impassive face showed no sign of reaction to the verdict.
feeling no pity, sadness, or sympathy, in a situation where most people would feel this: · The defendant's claims of self-defense left the jury unmoved.· How can anyone remain unmoved by pictures of starving children on our TV screens?unmoved by: · Unmoved by his pleas, Lucy strolled out of the room.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Her impassive face showed no reaction at all.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
not showing any emotion: Her impassive face showed no reaction at all. (=showing no emotion or thoughts)· What was she really thinking behind that blank face?
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN· Taller, wider in the shoulder, clumsily assembled, with a craggy, impassive face.· The Direktor thought of Madge Grimsilk's totally impassive face and personality.· As he spoke I was very conscious of the smile which transformed his usually impassive face.· No emotion showed on Dempster's impassive face, only a slight pallor in his normally ruddy complexion.
Her impassive face showed no reaction at all.—impassively adverb: The children studied him impassively.—impassivity /ˌɪmpæˈsɪvəti/ noun [uncountable]