face
/feɪs
/noun
1The front part of a person’s head from the forehead to the chin, or the corresponding part in an animal: she was scarlet in the face and perspiring profusely...
- My voice broke and the tears fell down my face as I wrapped my arms around his solid torso.
- It would be interesting to know is whether people with symmetrical faces have longer life expectancies.
- In his dream he looked upon the moon and saw the face of the goddess looking down upon her people.
Synonyms
countenance, physiognomy, profile, features
informal mug, kisser, clock
British informal mush, dial, phizog, phiz
British rhyming slang boat race
Scottish & Irish informal coupon
Northern Irish informal bake
North American informal puss, pan
literary visage, lineaments
archaic front
1.1An expression shown on the face: the happy faces of these children...
- I watched some pretty serious faces as shooters battled it out for 15th or 20th place in a category.
- I looked around the room, watching the girls' faces change from looks of accusation to pity and understanding.
- I joked, watching as their faces twist with frustration, annoyed that I was avoiding the subject.
Synonyms
expression, facial expression, look, appearance, air, manner, bearing, countenance, guise, cast, aspect, impression
formal mien
1.2An aspect of something: the unacceptable face of social drinking...
- Here was a problem that amounted to rather more than an unsightly flaw on the face of the splendid facade of classical physics.
- These mountain are most assuredly another of the distinctive four faces of Algeria.
- Although alcoholism remains the number one dependency problem among judges and lawyers, the face of addiction continues to change.
Synonyms
(outward) appearance, aspect, air, nature, image
2The surface of a thing, especially one that is presented to the view or has a particular function, in particular:
2.1 Geometry Each of the surfaces of a solid: the faces of a cube...
- To solve the problem, Vinson opted to use polyhedra that have more vertices than faces.
- The faces of the polyhedron appear to consist of two equilateral triangles and six somewhat irregular pentagons.
- This time, it had the shape of a trapezoid on four faces, making it look like a thimble with four right angles.
Synonyms
side, aspect, flank, vertical, surface, plane, facet, wall, elevation;
front, frontage, facade;
slope
2.2A vertical or sloping side of a mountain or cliff: the north face of the Eiger...
- These have produced scarps with vertical cliff faces up to 800 meters high.
- Springs can occur in uplands if zones of perched water extend laterally to cliff faces or other steep slopes.
- Such people were the first to leave the cave and see what was on the other side of the cliff face.
2.3The side of a planet or moon facing the observer: we can often see the dark face of the moon by earthshine...
- As one resident put it to this writer last week, the surface of the stretch of road in question is like the face of the moon.
- Beyond, the grey light was coming and going as clouds chased each other across the face of the moon.
- Then the heavens ripped asunder and showered evil and ill omens upon the face of this beckoning planet.
2.4The front of a building: a series of loggias make up the face of the church...
- The glazed faces of the building terminate campus circulation routes.
- The four distinct faces of the building force a process of scanning and mental reassembly at the scale of the whole wall.
- The windows on these faces look into narrow protected alleys or the small courtyard between the houses.
2.5The plate of a clock or watch bearing the digits or hands: a dial like the face of a clock...
- And I love how one of the clock faces of the Fendi Secret Dual Time watch is always very subtly covered.
- Watch faces, found at flea markets and removed from their bands, are arranged precisely on a tray.
- Here, traditional analogue clocks with crisp modern faces sit within achingly fashionable hoods.
Synonyms
dial, display
2.6The distinctive side of a playing card: she scattered a deck of cards face down...
- Others drank from flasks and clay bottles, or huddled together to read futures from the faces of playing cards.
- The faces of the cards in a pack may all be unique, or may include duplicates, depending on the game.
- On the face of each card is a number - there are two cards of each number from 1 to 12.
2.7The obverse of a coin.But high returns and high risk are two faces of the same coin....
- He drew a quick rendition of the two faces of the coin the Lujar had shown him.
- The poet's eye can see the two faces of the coin simultaneously.
3 [with adjective] A person of a particular type: this season’s squad has a lot of old faces in it...
- There are many familiar faces among this year's performers.
- The cast will include some familiar old faces and a few great newcomers, for which, by the way, the group are always on the lookout.
- Most are natives of the parish who have returned to spend time with family and friends, good to see the old familiar faces once again.
4 short for typeface.Not only are the messages different on each side, but the advertising line is also printed in two type sizes and faces....
- You may use either a variation of the serif font or a contrasting sans serif face for the display type.
- The most conventional scheme for using typefaces is to use a serif face such as Times New Roman or Georgia for body text and a sans serif face such as Verdana or Arial as a contrast for headlines.
verb [with object]
1Be positioned with the face or front towards (someone or something): he turned to face her...
- But if the same side of the Moon always faces Earth, there should be no lunar tides.
- On the bungalow the porch faces the ocean.
- Frankie sat facing the door that opened onto the back porch.
Synonyms
look out on, front on to, look towards, be facing, have/afford/command a view of, look over/across, open out over, look on to, overlook, give on to, give over, be opposite (to)
1.1 [no object, with adverbial of direction] Have the face or front pointing in a specified direction: the house faces due east...
- This building faces onto Blaxland road and Lane Cove road.
- Although most rock shelters open on three sides, the Eagle Rock site faces north and is open on only one side.
- A breakfast room, which has recently been added onto the kitchen, faces onto the courtyard through a French door.
1.2 [no object, with adverbial of direction] (Of a soldier) turn in a particular direction: the men had faced about to the front...
- At the execution command "Face", the soldier swivels on his right heel and left toes, through a 90-degree (right) angle to his right.
- For the movement Right Face, the preparatory command is "Right....", followed by the execution command "Face."
- When Sarge barks, "About face!" he applies the same command to everyone in the platoon, and each soldier executes the command at the same time.
2Confront and deal with or accept: honesty forced her to face facts [no object]: he was too old to face up to the responsibilities of his position...
- I am delighted that Scotland on Sunday is forcing society to face up to the crisis in our schools.
- We must not be afraid to face up to and express the cause and nature of those fears.
- It has been an ordeal, but sometimes, we just have to face up to things, ya know?
Synonyms
accept, come to accept, become reconciled to, reconcile oneself to, reach an acceptance (of), get used to, become accustomed to, adjust to, accommodate oneself to, acclimatize oneself to;
learn to live with, cope with, deal with, come to terms with, get to grips with, become resigned to, make the best of;
confront, meet head-on
brave, face up to, encounter, meet, meet head-on, confront, dare, defy, oppose, resist, withstand
2.1Have (a difficult situation) in prospect: each defendant faced a maximum sentence of 10 years...
- Judge Scott also warned that she could face up to four months in prison if she failed to complete the order.
- If caught, pirate broadcasters face up to two years in jail and unlimited fines.
- They will be sentenced next month and could face up to two years imprisonment for each vehicle.
Synonyms
be confronted by, be faced with, encounter, experience, come into contact with, run into, come across, meet, come up against, be forced to contend with
2.2(Of a problem or difficult situation) present itself to and require action from (someone): the difficulties facing British farming...
- Hence, humanity is faced with a different warfare that of spiritual and moral warfare.
- That's the bottom line city councillors were faced with this week as they continued along the 2004 budget path.
- In the past, novice readers who hoped to understand a classic text were faced with having to negotiate layers of annotation.
Synonyms
beset, worry, distress, cause trouble to, trouble, bother, confront, burden;
harass, oppress, vex, irritate, exasperate, strain, stress, tax;
torment, plague, blight, bedevil, rack, smite, curse, harrow
rare discommode
2.3 (face someone/thing down) Overcome someone or something by a show of determination: he climbed atop a tank to face down a coup...
- Others criticise the police for wanting to ‘contain’ sectarian fans rather than face them down and arrest them wholesale.
- Zacchaeus had the guts to face them down: ‘he stood his ground’ - but not on his dignity.
- There are moments when I feel tired by this, and drained, but then I get up the following morning and decide I'm going to face these people down.
Synonyms
stand up to, outface, cow, overawe, intimidate, browbeat, confront, beard, outstare, stare out/down, defy
3Cover the surface of (something) with a layer of a different material: the external basement walls were faced with granite slabs...
- Dining room and kitchen cabinets and drawers are faced with predominantly gray and blue laminate.
- The pedestal or ground floor of the main building is faced with granite from Little Cottonwood Canyon.
- If you turn off Tottenham Court Road onto Chenies Street you will see in front of you a building faced with a stone which reflects like a mirror on a sunny day.
Synonyms
cover, clad, veneer, skin, overlay, surface, dress, pave, put a facing on, laminate, inlay, plate, coat, line
Phrases
face down (or downwards)
someone's face fits
face the music
the face of the earth
face up (or upwards)
get out of someone's face
have the face to do something
in one's face
in face (or the face) of
lose face
loss of face
make (or pull) a face (or faces)
off one's face
on the face of it
put a brave (or bold) face on something
put one's face on
save face
save someone's face
set one's face against
throw something back in someone's face
to one's face
Phrasal verbs
face off
Origin
Middle English: from Old French, based on Latin facies 'form, appearance, face'.
The word face, from Latin facies ‘form, appearance, face’, is used in many expressions. To fly in the face of, meaning ‘to do the opposite of’, is recorded from the 16th century. It is taken literally from the notion of a dog attacking someone by springing directly at them. To lose face, meaning to be humiliated, is a direct translation of a Chinese phrase. The 16th-century dramatist Christopher Marlowe coined the phrase the face that launched a thousand ships to describe the great beauty of Helen, whose abduction by Paris caused the Trojan War. Facet (early 17th century) is literally a ‘little face’ from French facette.