Face — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

noun verb /ˈfās/

Meaning & Definition of Face

Face (noun)

  1. the front part of the head that in humans extends from the forehead to the chin and includes the mouth, nose, cheeks, and eyes
  2. the face as a means of identification, countenance
  3. presence, sight

Face (verb)

  1. to confront impudently
  2. to line near the edge especially with a different material
  3. to cover the front or surface of

Face (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to stand or sit with the face or front toward

    "the house faces the sparkling blue waters of the Pacific Ocean"

    similar: front, look (toward), point (toward)
    related: abut, adjoin, border, bound, fringe, margin, meet, neighbor, rim, skirt, touch, command, dominate, overlook, look down (on)

  2. to oppose (something hostile or dangerous) with firmness or courage

    "movie superheroes who are ever ready to face danger without blinking an eye"

    similar: beard, brave, brazen, breast, confront, dare, defy, outbrave, outface, stand up to
    related: face up (to), front, affront, challenge, encounter, meet, accost, approach, corner, repel, resist, stand, withstand, battle, combat, contend (with), fight, oppose, square (off)
    opposite: dodge, duck, funk, shirk, sidestep
    near: avoid, eschew, shun, elude, escape, evade, shake

  3. to cover with something that protects

    "we decided to face our old frame house with aluminum siding"

    similar: clad, sheathe
    related: apparel, array, clothe, dress, garb, robe, side, skin, embosom, embower, embrace, encase, enclose, encompass, enshroud, envelop, enwrap, invest, lap, mantle, shroud, surround, swathe, veil, wrap, blanket, overlay, overspread
    near: bare, denude, expose, strip, unswathe

  4. to enter into contest or conflict with

    "the Boston Red Sox were eager to face their traditional rivals, the Yankees, in the play-offs"

    similar: battle, encounter, engage, meet, take on
    related: emulate, rival, contend, fight, oppose
    near: elude, escape, evade, retreat

Face (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. the front part of the head

    "the criminal hid his face from the news cameras as he slumped into the patrol car"

    similar: countenance, kisser (slang), mug, pan (slang), puss (slang), visage
    related: appearance, aspect, features, lineaments, looks, mien, presence, expression, physiognomy

  2. a forward part or surface

    "the face of the store building has been altered many times over the years to meet changing tastes and needs"

    similar: facade, forehead, forepart, front
    related: outside, skin, surface, veneer
    opposite: back, rear, rearward, reverse
    near: innards, inside, interior

  3. a twisting of the facial features in disgust or disapproval

    "it's rude to make a face when your dinner hostess offers you broccoli"

    similar: frown, grimace, lower, moue, mouth, mow, mug, pout, scowl, snoot
    related: flinch, squinch, wince, growl, snarl, rictus, simper, smirk, scoff, sneer, glare, glower, look, stare
    near: grin, laugh, smile

  4. an outer part or layer

    "a much-needed sandblasting revealed that the face of the old stone church is actually a pinkish granite"

    similar: exterior, outside, shell, skin, surface, veneer
    related: facade, front, top, cover, covering, facing, appearance, disguise, guise, mask, semblance, show
    opposite: inside, interior

  5. facial appearance regarded as an indication of mood or feeling

    "a rainy day is no excuse for just moping around with a long face, so let's do something"

    similar: cast, countenance, expression, look, visage
    related: frown, grimace, lower, mouth, pout, scowl, grin, smile, air, appearance, aspect, bearing, demeanor, manner, mien, presence

  6. outward and often deceptive indication

    "on the face of it, the country went to war for noble reasons"

    similar: appearance, guise, name, outward, seeming, semblance, show, first blush
    related: air, effect, impression, hint, implication, insinuation, resemblance, suggestion, affectation, demonstration, display, fiction, image, imitation, imposture, likeness, make-believe, pose, pretense, representation, simulation, cloak, disguise, exterior, facade, front, gloss, mask, masquerade, patina, Potemkin village, shape, shell, surface, veneer

  7. a member of the human race

    "I see they've hired some new faces"

    similar: baby, being, bird, bod (British), body, character, cookie, creature, customer, devil, duck, egg, fish, guy, head, human, human being, individual, life, man, mortal, party, person, personage, scout, slob, sort, soul, specimen, stiff, thing, wight, son of man
    related: hominid, homo, humanoid, brother, fellow, fellowman, neighbor, celebrity, personality, self, somebody
    near: animal, beast, beastie, brute, critter

  8. shameless boldness

    "you have to wonder how anyone has the face to ask such a personal question"

    similar: audaciousness, audacity, brashness, brass, brassiness, brazenness, cheek, cheekiness, chutzpah, crust, effrontery, gall, nerve, nerviness, pertness, presumption, presumptuousness, sauce, sauciness, temerity
    related: arrogance, assurance, cockiness, confidence, hardihood, overconfidence, sanguinity, self-assurance, self-confidence, discourteousness, disrespect, impertinence, impoliteness, impudence, incivility, inconsiderateness, inconsideration, insolence, rudeness, ungraciousness, back talk, sass, swagger, swash
    near: bashfulness, diffidence, faintheartedness, hesitancy, modesty, shyness, timidity, timidness, timorousness, civility, courteousness, courtesy, gentility, graciousness, mannerliness, manners

  9. a state of mind in which one is free from doubt

    "he managed to maintain face despite the endless series of crises"

    similar: assurance, assuredness, certainty, certitude, cocksureness, confidence, conviction, doubtlessness, positiveness, satisfaction, sureness, surety
    related: authoritarianism, dogmatism, decisiveness, determination, firmness, purposefulness, resoluteness, resolution, resolve
    opposite: doubt, incertitude, nonconfidence, uncertainty
    near: hesitancy, hesitation, indecisiveness, irresolution, disbelief, incredulity, unbelief, anxiety, concern, misgiving, distrust, mistrust, suspicion

Related Entry: Face-off (noun)

Face-off is a different word from Face. The synonyms below are for face-off, not for face.

  1. an earnest effort for superiority or victory over another

    "the annual fall face-off between these traditional rivals is a big event for both football-mad colleges"

    similar: ball game, battle, combat, competition, conflict, confrontation, contention, contest, dogfight, duel, grapple, match, rivalry, strife, struggle, sweepstakes, tug-of-war, war, warfare
    related: horse race, nail-biter, showdown, clash, collision, discord, friction, argument, controversy, debate, disagreement, disputation, dispute, dissension, quarrel, row, wrangle
    near: concord, harmony, peace

Related Entry: Face off (verb)

Face off is a different word from Face. The synonyms below are for face off, not for face.

  1. to engage in a contest

    "eager to face off with her longtime tennis rival"

    similar: battle, compete, contend, fight, race, rival, vie
    related: challenge, engage, play, jockey, jostle, maneuver, go out, try out, train, work

Related Entry: Face-to-face (adverb)

Face-to-face is a different word from Face. The synonyms below are for face-to-face, not for face.

  1. in person and usually privately

    "I won't believe that accusation until I meet with him face-to-face and ask him myself"

    similar: personally, tête-à-tête, in private, in secret
    related: familiarly, intimately, confidentially, secretly, directly, immediately
    near: distantly, indirectly, openly, publicly

  2. in direct confrontation or competition

    "came face-to-face with her lifelong fear of flying even before the plane left the runway"

    similar: eyeball-to-eyeball, head-on, head-to-head, mano a mano, one-on-one, toe-to-toe

Related Entry: Face value (noun)

Face value is a different word from Face. The synonyms below are for face value, not for face.

  1. the monetary figure that is printed or shown on something (such as a coin or bill)

    "We paid $100 for tickets that had a face value of $50."

    similar: list price, unit price, valuation, value, worth, charge, cost, fee, figure, price, rate, appraisal, assessment, estimate, estimation, evaluation

Related Entry: Face up (to) (verb)

Face up (to) is a different word from Face. The synonyms below are for face up (to), not for face.

  1. as in front

    similar: front, beard, brave, brazen, breast, confront, dare, defy, face, outbrave, outface, affront, challenge, encounter, meet, accost, approach, corner, repel, resist, stand, withstand, battle, combat, contend (with), fight, oppose, square (off)
    opposite: dodge, duck, funk, shirk, sidestep, avoid, eschew, shun, elude, escape, evade, shake

Related Entry: Face-offs (noun)

Face-offs is a different word from Face. The synonyms below are for face-offs, not for face.

  1. an earnest effort for superiority or victory over another

    "the annual fall face-off between these traditional rivals is a big event for both football-mad colleges"

    similar: ball games, battles, combats, competitions, conflicts, confrontations, contentions, contests, dogfights, duels, grapples, matches, rivalries, strifes, struggles, sweepstakes, tugs-of-war, warfares, wars
    related: horse races, nail-biters, showdowns, clashes, collisions, discords, frictions, arguments, controversies, debates, disagreements, disputations, disputes, dissensions, quarrels, rows, wrangles
    near: concords, harmonies, peaces

Related Entry: Face values (noun)

Face values is a different word from Face. The synonyms below are for face values, not for face.

  1. the monetary figure that is printed or shown on something (such as a coin or bill)

    "We paid $100 for tickets that had a face value of $50."

    similar: list prices, unit prices, valuations, values, worths, charges, costs, fees, figures, prices, rates, appraisals, assessments, estimates, estimations, evaluations

Related Entry: About-face (noun)

About-face is a different word from Face. The synonyms below are for about-face, not for face.

  1. a changing from one policy or point of view to virtually its exact opposite

    "the candidate's frequent about-faces on issues disturbs many voters"

    similar: about-turn (British), flip-flop, reversal, turnabout, turnaround, U-turn, volte-face, change of heart
    related: bait and switch, switcheroo, denial, disaffirmance, disavowal, disownment, recantation, renunciation, repudiation, retraction, reconsideration, retreat, second thought, hesitation, indecision, irresolution, shilly-shallying, vacillation, wavering, wobbling

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Face

The most common words with a similar meaning to Face:

Slang: kisser, pan, puss
British: bod
front, look (toward), point (toward), beard, brave, brazen, breast, confront, dare, defy, outbrave, outface, clad, sheathe, battle, encounter, engage, meet, take on, stand up to, countenance, mug, visage, facade, forehead, forepart, frown, grimace, lower, moue, mouth, mow, pout, scowl, snoot, exterior, outside, shell, skin, surface

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Face

Words with the opposite meaning of Face:

dodge, duck, funk, shirk, sidestep, back, rear, rearward, reverse, inside, interior, doubt, incertitude, nonconfidence, uncertainty

Related Words for Face

abut, adjoin, border, bound, fringe, margin, neighbor, rim, skirt, touch, command, dominate, overlook, look down (on), face up (to), affront, challenge, accost, approach, corner, repel, resist, stand, withstand, combat, contend (with), fight, oppose, square (off), apparel

Near Antonyms of Face

avoid, eschew, shun, elude, escape, evade, shake, bare, denude, expose, strip, unswathe, retreat, innards, grin, laugh, smile, animal, beast, beastie, brute, critter, bashfulness, diffidence, faintheartedness, hesitancy, modesty, shyness, timidity, timidness

Word Forms of Face

Inflections: faced, facing

Origin & Etymology of Face

Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French, going back to Vulgar Latin *facia (attested in early Medieval Latin as facia "portrait"), re-formation of Latin faciēs "appearance, aspect, form, human face," from fac-, stem of facere "to make, do" + -iēs, noun suffix, usually deverbal fact

First known use: 14th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Face

Words & Phrases Containing Face

face angle, face blindness, face card, face-centered, face cord, face down, face-first, face fly

Frequently Asked Questions about Face

What does "Face" mean?

"Face" means the front part of the head that in humans extends from the forehead to the chin and includes the mouth, nose, cheeks, and eyes. As an a noun and a verb, it is defined as: the front part of the head that in humans extends from the forehead to the chin and includes the mouth, nose, cheeks, and eyes. It has 13 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Face"?

Other words for "Face" include front, look (toward), point (toward), beard, brave, brazen, breast and confront. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Face" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Face"?

There are 278 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Face". Common alternatives include front, look (toward), point (toward), beard, brave, brazen, breast, confront, dare and defy.

What is a slang word for "Face"?

Slang words for "Face" include kisser, pan and puss.

What is the opposite of "Face"?

Antonyms of "Face" include dodge, duck, funk, shirk, sidestep, back, rear and rearward. Near antonyms include avoid, eschew, shun and elude.

How do you use "Face" in a sentence?

Examples of "Face" in a sentence: "the house faces the sparkling blue waters of the Pacific Ocean"; "movie superheroes who are ever ready to face danger without blinking an eye"; "we decided to face our old frame house with aluminum siding".

Is "Face" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Face" can be used as a noun and a verb, depending on the context.

Is "Face" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As an A1-level word, "Face" is typical of Cambridge A1 Movers (Young Learners), TOEIC Listening & Reading 120+.