Meaning of face in English
Table of contents
Pronunciation
/feɪs/US accent
UK accent
to browse different examples of pronunciation.Verb
faceDefinitions
1. deal with (something unpleasant) head onExamples
- « You must confront your problems »
- « He faced the terrible consequences of his mistakes »
Antonyms
Derived terms
- 2. oppose, as in hostility or a competition
Examples
- « You must confront your opponent »
- « Jackson faced Smith in the boxing ring »
- « The two enemies finally confronted each other »
Derived terms
- 3. be oriented in a certain direction, often with respect to another reference point
Examples
- « be opposite to »
- « The house looks north »
- « My backyard look onto the pond »
- « The building faces the park »
Antonyms
Derived terms
- 4. be opposite
Examples
- « the facing page »
- « the two sofas face each other »
- 5. turn so as to face
Examples
- « turn the face in a certain direction »
- « Turn and face your partner now »
- 6. present somebody with something, usually to accuse or criticize
Examples
- « We confronted him with the evidence »
- « He was faced with all the evidence and could no longer deny his actions »
- « An enormous dilemma faces us »
Derived terms
- 7. turn so as to expose the face
Examples
- « face a playing card »
Derived terms
- 8. line the edge (of a garment) with a different material
Examples
- « face the lapels of the jacket »
Derived terms
- 9. cover the front or surface of
Examples
- « The building was faced with beautiful stones »
Derived terms
Noun
faceEtymology
Middle English: from Old French, based on Latin facies‘form, appearance, face’Definitions
1. the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to earExamples
- « he washed his face »
- « I wish I had seen the look on his face when he got the news »
- 2. the expression on a person's face
Examples
- « a sad expression »
- « a look of triumph »
- « an angry face »
Derived terms
- 3. the general outward appearance of something
Examples
- « the face of the city is changing »
- 4. the act of confronting bravely
Examples
- « he hated facing the facts »
- « he excelled in the face of danger »
Derived terms
- 5. the striking or working surface of an implement
- 6. a part of a person that is used to refer to a person
Examples
- « he looked out at a roomful of faces »
- « when he returned to work he met many new faces »
- 7. a surface forming part of the outside of an object
Examples
- « he examined all sides of the crystal »
- « dew dripped from the face of the leaf »
- 8. the part of an animal corresponding to the human face
- 9. the side upon which the use of a thing depends (usually the most prominent surface of an object)
Examples
- « he dealt the cards face down »
- 10. a contorted facial expression
Examples
- « she made a grimace at the prospect »
Derived terms
- 11. a specific size and style of type within a type family
- 12. status in the eyes of others
Examples
- « he lost face »
- 13. impudent aggressiveness
Examples
- « I couldn't believe her boldness »
- « he had the effrontery to question my honesty »
Derived terms
- 14. a vertical surface of a building or cliff
Famous quotes
- « Practice means to perform, over and over again in the face of all obstacles, some act of vision, of faith, of desire. Practice is a means of inviting the perfection desired. » Martha Graham
- « Human beings want to be free and however long they may agree to stay locked up, to stay oppressed, there will come a time when they say 'That's it.' Suddenly they find themselves doing something that they never would have thought they would be doing, simply because of the human instinct that makes them turn their face towards freedom. » Aung San Suu Kyi
- « A good face they say, is a letter of recommendation. O Nature, Nature, why art thou so dishonest, as ever to send men with these false recommendations into the World! » Henry Fielding