slack-jawed

See also: slackjawed

English

Alternative forms

slackjawed

Pronunciation

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Adjective

slack-jawed (comparative more slack-jawed, superlative most slack-jawed)

With the mouth in an open position and the jaw hanging loosely, especially as indicating bewilderment or astonishment.
Synonyms: dazzled, dumbfounded, open-mouthed, stunned
- 1911, Rex Ellingwood Beach, chapter 26, in The Ne'er-Do-Well‎:
  For one frightful moment there was no sound; even the men's breathing was hushed, and they sat slack-jawed, stunned, half-minded to believe this some hideous, incredible jest.
- 1992, Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, New York: Bantam Books, →ISBN, page 33:
  The Pudgelys and the Pinkhearts and the Roundasses are all staring at her, slackjawed.
(by extension) Unsophisticated or unthinking; dimwitted in appearance.
Synonyms: dopey, stupid, stupefied
- 2002, Brooks Blevins, Hill Folks: A History of Arkansas Ozarkers and their Image, →ISBN, page 262:
  She brought to the stage the barefoot, slack-jawed frontiersmen found on postcards in every convenience store and tourist trap in the Ozarks.
- 2005 July 24, Michelle Cottle, “My Roving Barcalounger”, in Time‎, archived from the original on 2005-07-28:
  But driving a car—particularly the supersize models—really should demand more concentration than, say, slouching slack-jawed in front of the wide screen in your den.
(dated) Overly talkative; indiscreet.
Synonym: big-mouthed
- 1917, P. G. Wodehouse, “Wilton's Holiday”, in The Man with Two Left Feet and Other Stories‎:
  As a matter of fact, it was by trying to lean on it that Spencer Clay got hold of the facts of the case; and when young Clay got hold of anything, Marois Bay at large had it hot and fresh a few hours later; for Spencer was one of those slack-jawed youths who are constitutionally incapable of preserving a secret.