Collocations for expression - noun

clear, coherent
Her statement was a clear expression of her views on this subject.

concrete, material, practical, tangible
The report gave concrete expression to the fears of many immigrants.

direct
Just because there is no direct expression of prejudice, that does not mean the prejudice does not exist.

full
The new concept of form reached its fullest expression in the work of Picasso.

highest, perfect, ultimate
His highest expression of praise was ‘Not bad!’ the highest expression of human creativity

effective, powerful | simple | natural
He wanted to write a verse drama in which the verse would seem a natural expression of modern life.

spontaneous | free
the right of free expression

open, overt, public
the open expression of emotion

outward
the outward expression of inner emotional feelings

formal | characteristic, classic
Modernism was the characteristic expression of the experience of modernity.

unique | collective
Harvest festival was the occasion for the collective expression of a community''s religious values.

individual, personal
to allow scope for individual expression

visible, visual | emotional, physical, sexual, verbal | artistic, creative, cultural, linguistic, literary, musical, poetic, political, religious | human

achieve, find, reach, receive
an anger and frustration that finds expression in (= is shown in) violence

allow sth, give sth
The method is to listen to the music and allow expression to whatever comes to you. | Only in his dreams does he give expression to his fears.

demand, need, require
Suddenly her deeper feelings demanded expression.

beyond ~
She suddenly felt happy beyond expression (= so happy that she could not express it).

freedom of expression
Freedom of expression (= freedom to say what you think) is a basic human right.

a means of expression
Words, as a means of expression, can be limiting.

bland, blank, frozen, set, vacant | dazed, glazed | deadpan
cracking jokes with a deadpan expression on his face

curious, enigmatic, inscrutable, odd, strange, unreadable | guarded | searching | faraway | thoughtful, wistful | doubtful, wary | anxious, troubled, worried | bleak, grim, serious | angry, fierce, furious, stern | hangdog, hunted, lugubrious, melancholy, mournful, pained, sad | brooding, intense, rapt | surprised, shocked | baffled, bemused, bewildered, puzzled, quizzical | alert | amused, wry | benign, sympathetic | satisfied, smug | innocent | fleeting | facial

have, wear
She had a very bewildered expression on her face. | The children''s faces all wore the same rapt expression.

assume, put on
She carefully put on her most innocent expression.

take on
Rose''s face took on the fierce expression of a schoolgirl talking about her most hated teacher.

catch, see
Catching a fleeting expression on Lucy''s face, she persisted with her question.

watch | gauge, read
I looked at her, trying to read the expression on her face.

change
His face never changed expression.

alter, change
His expression changed to embarrassment.

relax, soften
His expression softened when he saw her.

darken, harden
Her expression hardened into one of strong dislike.

freeze | betray sth, reveal sth, show sth, suggest sth, tell sb sth
Her expression betrayed nothing of her thoughts. | His grim expression told her it would be useless.

give nothing away | cross sth, flit across sth
She had been watching the expression that crossed his face.

without ~
‘Go on, ’ she said, without expression.

~ of
He wore an expression of anxiety on his face.

the expression in sb''s eyes/on sb''s face
He looked at her with a very strange expression in his eyes.

common | outdated | colloquial, slang | favourite | memorable | strange, unusual | figurative, idiomatic | coarse, vulgar | American, English, etc. | geographical
Until the mid-nineteenth century, ‘Italy’ was just a geographical expression.

use
He tends to use strange expressions like ‘It''s enough to make a cat laugh’.

mean sth