countenance

coun·te·nance (koun

-n

ns)

1. Appearance, especially the expression of the face: The question left him with a puzzled countenance.

2. The face or facial features.

a. A look or expression indicative of encouragement or of moral support.

b. Support or approval.

4. Obsolete Bearing; demeanor.

tr.v. coun·te·nanced, coun·te·nanc·ing, coun·te·nanc·es

To give sanction or support to; tolerate or approve: The college administration will not countenance cheating.

[Middle English contenaunce, from Old French, from contenir, to behave; see contain.]

counte·nanc·er n.

countenance

Noun

Literary the face or facial expression

Verb

[-nancing, -nanced]

to support or tolerate [Latin continentia restraint, control]

ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms

Noun	1.	countenance - the appearance conveyed by a person's face; "a pleasant countenance"; "a stern visage" visage appearance, visual aspect - outward or visible aspect of a person or thing expression, look, face, facial expression, aspect - the feelings expressed on a person's face; "a sad expression"; "a look of triumph"; "an angry face" poker face - a face without any interpretable expression (as that of a good poker player)
	2.	countenance - formal and explicit approval; "a Democrat usually gets the union's endorsement" imprimatur, sanction, warrant, indorsement, endorsement commendation, approval - a message expressing a favorable opinion; "words of approval seldom passed his lips" O.K., okay, okeh, okey, OK - an endorsement; "they gave us the O.K. to go ahead" visa - an endorsement made in a passport that allows the bearer to enter the country issuing it nihil obstat - the phrase used by the official censor of the Roman Catholic Church to say that a publication has been examined and contains nothing offensive to the church
	3.	countenance - the human face (`kisser' and `smiler' and `mug' are informal terms for `face' and `phiz' is British) physiognomy, visage, phiz, smiler, kisser, mug human head - the head of a human being face, human face - the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear; "he washed his face"; "I wish I had seen the look on his face when he got the news" pudding face, pudding-face - a large fat human face colloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech Britain, Great Britain, U.K., UK, United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; `Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom
Verb	1.	countenance - consent to, give permission; "She permitted her son to visit her estranged husband"; "I won't let the police search her basement"; "I cannot allow you to see your exam" permit, allow, let brook, endure, tolerate, stomach, abide, bear, digest, stick out, suffer, put up, stand, support - put up with something or somebody unpleasant; "I cannot bear his constant criticism"; "The new secretary had to endure a lot of unprofessional remarks"; "he learned to tolerate the heat"; "She stuck out two years in a miserable marriage" furlough - grant a leave to; "The prisoner was furloughed for the weekend to visit her children" give - allow to have or take; "I give you two minutes to respond" consent, go for, accept - give an affirmative reply to; respond favorably to; "I cannot accept your invitation"; "I go for this resolution" permit, tolerate, allow - allow the presence of or allow (an activity) without opposing or prohibiting; "We don't allow dogs here"; "Children are not permitted beyond this point"; "We cannot tolerate smoking in the hospital" authorize, authorise, clear, pass - grant authorization or clearance for; "Clear the manuscript for publication"; "The rock star never authorized this slanderous biography" grant, allow - let have; "grant permission"; "Mandela was allowed few visitors in prison" let in, admit, include - allow participation in or the right to be part of; permit to exercise the rights, functions, and responsibilities of; "admit someone to the profession"; "She was admitted to the New Jersey Bar" privilege, favour, favor - bestow a privilege upon decriminalise, decriminalize, legalise, legalize, legitimate, legitimatise, legitimatize, legitimise, legitimize - make legal; "Marijuana should be legalized" trust - allow without fear allow in, intromit, let in, admit - allow to enter; grant entry to; "We cannot admit non-members into our club building"; "This pipe admits air"