Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Keep "facepalm" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "facepalm" intact in the sentence you are editing.
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
After choosing a replacement for "facepalm", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "facepalm" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
7 translations across 6 languages.
6 total sentences available.
[Cue: William Tell Overture] [sound of Frank Zappa's “San Ber'dino” being played on Japanese instruments] [Kevin (the Muse): “Wargh! It SAID _William Tell!”] [Cantata11 (walking up with a koto): “Oof. Sorry. It's just that the girls had gotten warmed up to the other thingy...”] [Kevin: “William _Tell_, 11.” (facepalm)]
Source: wiktionary
“Do you think Carl Sagan might be available?” There was a mass-facepalm. “No.” they chorused.
Source: wiktionary
A look of realization crossed her face; she looked like she may have given herself a face palm if her hands weren't full.
Source: wiktionary
According to a study by me, this generates a multibillion facepalm for the UK economy, making everyone who considers it at least eleventy hundred pounds unhappier.
Source: wiktionary
Showing 4 of 6 available sentences.
Closest matches include cringe, disbelief gesture, embarrassment gesture, facepalmed, facepalms.
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.