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'I can read you like a book, baby!'

DEFINITION: v., To read a person's face and interpret what they are actually thinking, even if they are trying to conceal their true feelings. n., The skill of reading people's faces, especially micro-expressions.

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Verboticisms

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Countenanvoyance

Created by: Nosila

Pronunciation: kown ten an voy ants

Sentence: E.S. Peer was a man gifted in countenanvoyance. He was a human lie detector and could soon sort out people's real agendas. This skill afforded him the ability to get very prestigious jobs and make himself invaluable to employers. Asked how he did it, E.S. said, "Eye can look into your face and eye nose what you are thinking. Under your make-up, eye can attest to your real make-up. You cannot brow beat me or make me en-visage something not there. Eye can tell when you mouthing something else and giving me cheek. Face it, eye can read you like a book!"

Etymology: Countenance (the Human face) & Clairvoyance (apparent power to perceive things that are not present to the senses)

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Mugnacious

artr

Created by: artr

Pronunciation: məgnāshəs

Sentence: The more Jason sat in the traffic jam the more mugnacious he became. Nobody had any trouble telling how he felt.

Etymology: mug (face) + pugnacious (having the appearance of a willing fighter)

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Deciphacade

thegoatisbad

Created by: thegoatisbad

Pronunciation: de-si-fa-sod

Sentence: Kimberly was not an excellent deciphaçader, which further complicated her ability to communicate with anybody on her vacation to the newest Sandals resort in Bilbao.

Etymology: decipher (decode, interpret meaning) + façade (building's front)

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Tellepathy

MrDave2176

Created by: MrDave2176

Pronunciation: tel-EHP-ath-ee

Sentence: Maria's tellepathy was uncanny. She correctly read the disappointment on her son's face at his bag lunch options, and picked up on her husband's stress at his upcoming meeting. She tossed a candy bar into her son's lunch and spent a few extra seconds hugging her husband at the door to make things smoother.

Etymology: tell (the small nuances of behavior that poker players read in games) + (tel)epathy

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Visageonary

Created by: Nosila

Pronunciation: vis aj on ar ee

Sentence: Sandra could read Mike's face like a book. She knew him so well now, thast he knew better than to try and lie to him. Yes, she was a visageonary, but too bad Mike was not. He was the last to find out when she ran off with his best friend, Pete...because she had been able to read the signals Pete was sending her!

Etymology: Visage (the appearance conveyed by a person's face) & Visionary (a person with unusual powers of foresight)

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Visagenary

Created by: Nosila

Pronunciation: viz ah jen ari

Sentence: Victor had visagenary skills. His ability to tell whether or not a person was lying was legendary. This skill had stood him well through his life and was very handy when dealing with the children he taught in school. He taught them that the truth was their only option, because you could never tell who had this power besides him. It helped while dating (her lips were smiling but her eyes weren't...) And he could have been a human lie detector for the CIA or FBI or the police. Victor figured as long as he had the gift, he might as well earn some money with it. That's when he started on the Celebrity Poker circuit and won millions with his visagenary talents!

Etymology: Visage (the human face; the appearance conveyed by a person's face) & Visionary (a person with unusual powers of foresight,seeing ahead; knowing in advance; foreseeing)

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COMMENTS:

great word - Jabberwocky, 2008-10-16: 15:52:00

Excellent! - Mustang, 2008-10-16: 19:34:00

metrohumanx First-rate word, that. - metrohumanx, 2008-10-17: 07:47:00

Terrific - OZZIEBOB, 2008-10-19: 00:31:00

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Facesper

zxvasdf

Created by: zxvasdf

Pronunciation: Faces per

Sentence: She would sit in the middle of pedestrian traffic and be engulfed in emotion, her delicate talent facespering strains of thoughts from the expressions of strangers that streamed past her like writhing eels in a current. A facesper like her had a tendency towards a delicacy in bone structure and diminutiveness in size, as if the swell of emotion splayed on the faces of the world caused the body to shrink inwards. Facesperate attempts by non-sensitives were the subject of ridicule by true facespers.

Etymology: Face (anterior part of the skull) & ESP (Extra Sensory Perception)& -er (one that has)

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COMMENTS:

I like how you incorporated the ESP into your word - Jabberwocky, 2008-10-16: 15:54:00

metrohumanx What a beautifully lyrical sentence. Bravo! - metrohumanx, 2008-10-17: 12:24:00

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Espivisage

Created by: purpleartichokes

Pronunciation: ESS-pee-vih-sahzh

Sentence: Sue used ESPivisage to successfully conclude that Bob wanted a burger and fries for lunch, and not the leftover tofurkey sandwich she suggested.

Etymology: ESP, visage, espionage

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COMMENTS:

Nice blend with good use of ESP! - OZZIEBOB, 2007-11-19: 16:16:00

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Ekman

Created by: CDH167

Pronunciation: eck man

Sentence: I thought I could lie with a straight face, but when I got home, my wife totally ekmanned me.

Etymology: From Paul Ekman, the psychologist who discovered microexpressions.

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Obsenserate

Created by: mvandyke

Pronunciation: ob sense er ate

Sentence: Mark could easily 'obsenserate' Jeff's expression.

Etymology:

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Comments:

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2007-11-19: 00:01:00
Today's definition was suggested by aigle101. Thank you aigle101! ~ James

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2007-11-19: 00:02:00
If you are interested in learning more about face reading and micro-expressions, check out The Naked Face. It's an article written by Malcolm Gladwell which originally appeared New Yorker magazine. ~ James

metrohumanx - 2008-10-16: 06:24:00
Clairvoyant wins lottery for second time!

artr artr - 2008-10-16: 19:13:00
Nobody ever really wants the fruit salad.:-)

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2010-03-12: 00:34:00
Today's definition was suggested by aigle101. Thank you aigle101. ~ James