What does countenance mean?
Word: Countenance
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Countenance means a person's face, especially the look on it.
How do you spell countenance?
Syllables: coun - te - nance
Tricky part: The ending is ance. Ears pick up only a faint vowel there, so ence and ince are easy slips.
Watch out for: countenence, countenince, countenense
Memory tip: Picture a dancer with a calm face: dance closes with the same four letters.
Countenance in a sentence
Example 1: Her calm countenance hid how nervous she felt before the speech.
Example 2: He kept a cheerful countenance all through the long train ride.
Example 3: A sunny countenance greeted us at the door of Nani's house.
Fun Fact
The word has shifted over time. It first meant the way a person behaved, and only later came to mean the face. As a formal verb it means something else again: to agree to allow something.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word countenance as used in the sentence:
The old sailor's weathered countenance broke into a slow smile.
a) temper
b) posture
c) visage
d) gesture
Show answer
c) visage. Visage is a literary word for the same thing, while a smile cannot break across a posture or a gesture.
Mingle-Mangle
The sentence contains a jumbled word. Choose the word it hides.
The headmaster's stern nntceoaucne softened as soon as the choir began to sing.
a) consequence
b) continuance
c) convenience
d) countenance
Show answer
d) countenance. The letters hold a t and a u but no v, q or i, which leaves one option.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
countennance
a) n
b) u
c) e
d) c
Show answer
a) n. Just one n follows the e in this word.
Spell-o-Spell
One word in the list is misspelt. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word.
1. contenance 2. reminisce 3. cylinder 4. resilient
a) to talk about happy past times
b) a solid shape like a tube
c) how a person's features look
d) quick to recover after trouble
Show answer
c) how a person's features look. A letter u has gone missing from the opening of contenance.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which line from a story describes someone's countenance?
a) Her bag held three books and a pencil.
b) Her new shoes pinched at the toes all day.
c) Her eyes sparkled and her cheeks glowed with joy.
d) Her voice carried across the whole valley.
Show answer
c) Her eyes sparkled and her cheeks glowed with joy.
2. If a quizmaster keeps a blank countenance, the teams ____.
a) must write their answers on blank sheets
b) cannot tell from her look what she thinks
c) have to wait until the hall is empty
d) cannot hear the questions she reads out
Show answer
b) cannot tell from her look what she thinks
