3

To my mind, to pout means to push one's lips forward, as an expression of petulant annoyance or sexual attraction. To pucker one's lips has a similar meaning.

I am wondering what the opposite expression is called, namely pulling one's lips back. I am not sure scrunch would do, as it signifies the crumbling and squeezing of face.

Here's an image example of such a facial expression from a movie.

enter image description here

1
  • 1
    A slight problem is you have with your example is there are two expressions going on at the same time: the girl is both pursing her lips and smirking (to her right).
    – Peter
    Commented Apr 11, 2018 at 5:17

3 Answers 3

6

My first thought is "pursing" lips, e.g. "She pursed her lips when she heard me fart."

Pursed comes from an old-fashioned money purse that closes by a drawstring. It wrinkles the top of the purse, so pursed means "wrinkled" as in the picture you show.

1
  • Edit to add a dictionary link
    – James K
    Commented Apr 6, 2018 at 18:19
3
+50

She screwed up her lips.

She screwed up her mouth.

Her lips drew back (in a smirk/disbelief).

All of these work in your described context. To screw up one's lips especially can depict a facial expression where the lips are pulled and twisted to one side of the face. Think of a scene where a person twists their lips aside to exhale smoke in order to not puff in their conversation partner's face. There are examples in novels of this common scene:

“Can I sit in front?” Lux asked, screwing her mouth up to exhale to one side, politely away from us. (Source: The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides)

If I am not mistaken, the screenshot is from the movie Tracks. Incidentally, I found an audio-described copy of the film and it actually uses screw up one's lips in this scene. As far as the actual scene from the movie is concerned, I don't think it's a smirk or skepticism that she is displaying (as another answer suggests).

Sallay to Robyn: If you're out there on your own and a wild bull's coming at ya, you shoot it. Don't think. You shoot. You understand?

(She screws up her lips.)

You can also say screw up one's face or screw up one's eyes.

2

I'd describe the woman in the photo as having an expression of skepticism or disbelief. In that light, I'd suggest one of the following phrases:

A skeptical smirk came across her face.

The corner of her mouth quirked up into a disbelieving smirk.

She gave a skeptical half-smile.

She shot him a disbelieving look.

I found the following link useful as a reference for describing facial expressions:

MASTER LIST of Facial Expressions for Writers!

1
  • +1 Great answer! I will wait a bit longer to see if other ideas emerge before I settle on your answer.
    – Eddie Kal
    Commented Apr 10, 2018 at 4:47

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .