1. Plural of doughface; Northern politicians in the 19th century who were seen as sympathetic to or complicit with Southern slavery interests.
Usage: historical; U.S. politics; often derogatory
2. People with soft, pale, or expressionless faces; individuals lacking character or firmness in appearance.
Usage: informal; dated

Examples

• The doughfaces in Congress were criticized for supporting the Compromise of 1850.
• Abolitionists denounced the doughfaces as traitors to the cause of freedom.
• The term 'doughfaces' became a political insult during the antebellum period.
• Northern doughfaces often voted with Southern interests to maintain party unity.
• Historians debate the extent to which doughfaces genuinely believed in their positions or simply sought political advantage.