Pressing the lips together into a thin line, often as the mouth disappears from view.
A manager hears unwelcome news and the lips press tight while the rest of the face stays still. The mouth all but vanishes, as though words are being physically held inside.
Read this as withheld disagreement, stress or the effort to hold something back. The mouth is closing on words, so it often marks the moment a person decides not to say what they are thinking.
Concentration can also produce lip compression, so consider whether the person is simply focused. Someone working through a hard problem may press the lips without any negative feeling at all.
A true smile that engages both the mouth and the muscles around the eyes, creating crinkles at the outer corners.
ExploreA polite smile produced mainly by the mouth, often held to meet social expectation rather than to express joy.
ExploreA very brief flash of true emotion that crosses the face in a fraction of a second before composure returns.
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