: the art of discovering temperament and character from outward appearance
2
: the facial features held to show qualities of mind or character by their configuration or expression
3
: external aspect
also: inner character or quality revealed outwardly
Example Sentences
He and his son have the same distinctive physiognomy.
Recent Examples on the WebThe physiognomy of a baby doll represents what the person buying it considers to be precious. Damon Young, Washington Post, 25 July 2022 Based on the images that have been released, the new car’s physiognomy is very similar to that of the outgoing version, but there are some subtle differences. Mike Duff, Car and Driver, 12 May 2022 And yet the brilliant meditations—on whether color exists in the world or in the eye, on physiognomy, on borders and borderlessness, and on suffering—seem in some instances comically obsolete and in others utterly germane. Claire Messud, Harper's Magazine, 17 Aug. 2021 Though diminutive, miniatures condense and unify a host of references to physiognomy, class, attire and setting. Colin T. Eisler, WSJ, 16 July 2021 In Mécanisme de la physionomie humaine, Duchenne laid important foundations for both Darwin and Ekman, connecting older ideas from physiognomy and phrenology with more modern investigations into physiology and psychology. Kate Crawford, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2021 Lavater took the approaches of physiognomy and blended them with the latest scientific knowledge. Kate Crawford, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2021 At one point, the conversation turned to physiognomy, the pseudoscientific judgment of a person’s character based on their facial features.New York Times, 18 Mar. 2021 Years of chronic asthma and a fragile physiognomy left him relatively limited in his physical activity. Oliver Munday, The Atlantic, 1 Nov. 2020 See More
Word History
Etymology
Middle English phisonomie, from Anglo-French phisenomie, from Late Latin physiognomonia, physiognomia, from Greek physiognōmonia, from physiognōmōn judging character by the features, from physis nature, physique, appearance + gnōmōn interpreter — more at gnomon