ADJ
- clear, coherent
- Her statement was a clear expression of her views on this subject
- concrete, material, practical, tangible
- The report gave concrete expression to the fears of many immigrants
- direct
- Just because there is no direct expression of prejudice, that does not mean the prejudice does not exist
- full
- The new concept of form reached its fullest expression in the work of Picasso
- highest, perfect, ultimate
- His highest expression of praise was 'Not bad!' the highest expression of human creativity
- effective, powerful
- simple
- natural
- He wanted to write a verse drama in which the verse would seem a natural expression of modern life
- spontaneous
- free
- the right of free expression
- open, overt, public
- the open expression of emotion
- outward
- the outward expression of inner emotional feelings
- formal
- characteristic, classic
- Modernism was the characteristic expression of the experience of modernity
- unique
- collective
- Harvest festival was the occasion for the collective expression of a community's religious values
- individual, personal
- to allow scope for individual expression
- visible, visual
- emotional, physical, sexual, verbal
- artistic, creative, cultural, linguistic, literary, musical, poetic, political, religious
- human
VERB + EXPRESSION
- achieve, find, reach, receive
- an anger and frustration that finds expression in (= is shown in) violence
- allow sth, give sth
- The method is to listen to the music and allow expression to whatever comes to you. Only in his dreams does he give expression to his fears
- demand, need, require
- Suddenly her deeper feelings demanded expression
PREP
- beyond ~
- She suddenly felt happy beyond expression (= so happy that she could not express it)
PHRASES
- freedom of expression
- Freedom of expression (= freedom to say what you think) is a basic human right
- a means of expression
- Words, as a means of expression, can be limiting
ADJ
- bland, blank, frozen, set, vacant
- dazed, glazed
- deadpan
- cracking jokes with a deadpan expression on his face
- curious, enigmatic, inscrutable, odd, strange, unreadable
- guarded
- searching
- faraway
- thoughtful, wistful
- doubtful, wary
- anxious, troubled, worried
- bleak, grim, serious
- angry, fierce, furious, stern
- hangdog, hunted, lugubrious, melancholy, mournful, pained, sad
- brooding, intense, rapt
- surprised, shocked
- baffled, bemused, bewildered, puzzled, quizzical
- alert
- amused, wry
- benign, sympathetic
- satisfied, smug
- innocent
- fleeting
- facial
VERB + EXPRESSION
- have, wear
- She had a very bewildered expression on her face. The children's faces all wore the same rapt expression
- assume, put on
- She carefully put on her most innocent expression
- take on
- Rose's face took on the fierce expression of a schoolgirl talking about her most hated teacher
- catch, see
- Catching a fleeting expression on Lucy's face, she persisted with her question
- watch
- gauge, read
- I looked at her, trying to read the expression on her face
- change
- His face never changed expression
EXPRESSION + VERB
- alter, change
- His expression changed to embarrassment
- relax, soften
- His expression softened when he saw her
- darken, harden
- Her expression hardened into one of strong dislike
- freeze
- betray sth, reveal sth, show sth, suggest sth, tell sb sth
- Her expression betrayed nothing of her thoughts. His grim expression told her it would be useless
- give nothing away
- cross sth, flit across sth
- She had been watching the expression that crossed his face
PREP
- without ~
- 'Go on,' she said, without expression
- ~ of
- He wore an expression of anxiety on his face
PHRASES
- the expression in sb's eyes/on sb's face
- He looked at her with a very strange expression in his eyes
ADJ
- common
- outdated
- colloquial, slang
- favourite
- memorable
- strange, unusual
- figurative, idiomatic
- coarse, vulgar
- American, English, etc.
- geographical
- Until the mid-nineteenth century, 'Italy' was just a geographical expression
VERB + EXPRESSION
- use
- He tends to use strange expressions like ' It's enough to make a cat laugh '