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What other words can I use to replace the following:

"with his mouth wide open"

I'm trying to describe a person who was shocked by bad news. I need to show, not tell. I have used "with his mouth wide open" twice and want to find another way to describe a person who is shocked. Any suggestions?

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4
  • "He was shocked."
    – Aaron
    Commented Apr 30, 2018 at 3:36
  • Maybe 'wide-mouthed' or 'His jaws wide apart' or 'The gap in between jaw and head further increasing'.
    – JoHKa
    Commented Apr 30, 2018 at 4:07
  • 'Gaping' describes the mouth position, or if you have already mentioned the mouth twice you could go on to say that he was pale and trembling, for example.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Apr 30, 2018 at 8:34
  • Aghast, agog, agape.
    – Phil Sweet
    Commented May 30, 2018 at 10:40

2 Answers 2

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You could use the idiom someone's jaw dropped:

His jaw dropped in surprise when he heard the news.

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What would a shocked person look and sound like?

For example, you could try writing something like this, 'His eyes were wide open with fear and disbelief'.

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