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'Look at that big smile!'

DEFINITION: v. To have difficulty recognizing, and correctly interpreting, human facial expressions. n. A person who cannot read faces.

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Verboticisms

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Misvibception

Created by: marinus

Pronunciation: mis-vib-cep-tion

Sentence: In his misvibception, disinterest meant confusion and I was stuck having the longest conversation on Shakespearian etymology I never wanted to have.

Etymology: mistaken, vibes, reception.

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Emotionull

artr

Created by: artr

Pronunciation: iˈmō sh ənəl

Sentence: Rudy is the perfect person to work the exchange desk. He is absolutely emotionull. He doesn*t get rattled by angry, screaming customers because doesn*t understand those feelings. He never learned to read expressions. To him jovial looks just the same as irate. He has been taught to tense certain muscles in his face when working. He has been told that doing this looks something like a smile and that it will help in his job. Most of his clients leave semi-satisfied but creeped out by the look on his face.

Etymology: emotional (arousing or characterized by intense feeling) + null (lacking distinctive qualities; having no positive substance or content)

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Winceblind

metrohumanx

Created by: metrohumanx

Pronunciation: WINCE-BLIND

Sentence: Paul regaled his dinner date with an endless succession of irrelevant anecdotes,childish jokes and lewd comments. Being congenitally WINCEBLIND,he mistook Bab's expressions of terminal boredom and abject horror as sultry approval and scampish encouragement.

Etymology: WINCE-to grimace BLIND-unable to see that one has NO chance with the opposite sex.

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Expressinsensitive

artr

Created by: artr

Pronunciation: ikspreshinsensitiv

Sentence: Spock is so focused on logic that he often puzzled by human emotion. He can be expressinsensitive.

Etymology: expression (the look on someone’s face that conveys a particular emotion) + insensitive (showing or feeling no concern for others’ feelings)

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Missedemeanour

CharlieB

Created by: CharlieB

Pronunciation: miss-duh-mean-er

Sentence: As Bill threw his paper aeroplane across the classroom, Mr Smith frowned. Bill mistook his stern expression for one of delight, promptly grinned and set about making an entire air force from his maths text book. He wasn't being naughty, it was just an unfortunate missedemeanour.

Etymology: Missed (failed to notice or understand) + demeanour (facial appearance) + Misdemeanour (misbehaviour)

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Incountenance

Created by: Nosila

Pronunciation: in cown ten ants

Sentence: Jeff had a serious problem, particularly when he was around the ladies. He could not read faces or facial expressions. Because of it, he often misinterpreted the reactions he received from the fairer sex. Jeff suffered from incountenance and as a result, when he wanted them to stay, they wanted him to go!

Etymology: Incontinence (involuntary urination or defecation; indiscipline with regard to sensuous pleasures) & Countenance (the appearance conveyed by a person's face;the human face)

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Adoubtface

Created by: Nosila

Pronunciation: a dowt fayss

Sentence: Pinky had always thought she was a visagenist, someone who could read faces and know what people were thinking. That was until she met Bruno. It did not help that Pinky had little control over her own facial expressions. What he interpreted as amourous curiosity on her part, was actually a look of constipation. His leer at her was actually gas pains from the chili he had eaten earlier. Her adoubtface would end in them enjoying a bottle of Pepto together later.

Etymology: A Doubt (a lack confidence in or have doubts about;an uncertainty about the truth or factuality of existence of something;the state of being unsure of something)& Face (the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear; the expression on a person's face;status in the eyes of others) & play on word About-face (change one's mind and assume the opposite viewpoint;a reversal in attitude or principle or point of view;act of pivoting 180 degrees, especially in a military formation)

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Facefail

WordyBird

Created by: WordyBird

Pronunciation:

Sentence:

Etymology:

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Visagidiot

Created by: daisy

Pronunciation: vi-za-ji-di-it

Sentence: He can't seem to tell the difference between a cringe and a wink - he's a visagidiot!

Etymology:

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Empaphy

Created by: mustilicor

Pronunciation:

Sentence: While most people eventually overcome their ignorance of other's discomfort, for some this utter empaphy lingers indefinitely.

Etymology: empathy pronounced with the lisp of a small child

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COMMENTS:

Very creative. I tend to just mash words together, which gets old after awhile. - purpleartichokes, 2007-05-09: 19:57:00

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Comments:

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2007-05-09: 02:26:00
Today's definition was inspired by Cory Doctorow's short story "I, Row-Boat", where a sentient, and very sensitive Row-Boat has some difficulty reading a woman's facial expressions. See the full story in Overclocked. Thank you Cory! ~ James

metrohumanx metrohumanx - 2008-07-09: 02:49:00
MIENBLIND is very good- and far more cerebral than my entry. Good work, Ozziebob.

MaybeLater_x - 2008-08-19: 19:10:00
Visagenary is also a play on Imaginary, nay?

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2009-11-25: 00:48:00
Today's definition was suggested by doctorow. Thank you doctorow. ~ James

ldikarev - 2012-09-06: 16:44:00

ldikarev - 2012-09-06: 16:45:00
Prosopagnosia -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosopagnosia Prosopagnosia (Greek: "prosopon" = "face", "agnosia" = "not knowing") is a disorder of fa