ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Brownface

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /ˈbɹaʊnˌfeɪs/ · Part of speech noun

Quick meaning: Brownface is a noun meaning A style of theatrical makeup in which a white person colours the face brown in order to represent somebody of another race.

Meaning

A style of theatrical makeup in which a white person colours the face brown in order to represent somebody of another race.

Example Sentences

The problem isn’t so much Lancaster’s unconvincing brownface makeup — though it looks as if it had been applied by the same heavy laborers who blacktopped Laurence Olivier for “Othello” — as it is the extremely un-Leonardian softness of his presence.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include blackface, blackfacing, pale face, browning, paleface, tawny.

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Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.