face

UK /fɛjs/ US /feɪs/

noun 5verb 5phrase 1

Collocations

(noun.) front part of the head

ADJ

angelic, beautiful, handsome, lovely, pleasant, pretty, sweet | plain, ugly, terrible | colourless, grey, pale, pallid, white

flushed, pink, red, ruddy

The embarrassed child's face turned red when everyone laughed at his joke.

fat, plump

The baby's fat little face broke into a huge smile when he saw his mother.

gaunt, haggard, lean, pinched, thin, wizened

craggy, rugged

The old fisherman had a rugged face, weathered by years at sea.

elfin

The young actress had an elfin face that made her perfect for fairy tale roles.

painted | happy, smiling | tear-stained, tear-streaked | human

VERB + FACE

tilt, turn

After hearing the bad news, he slowly turned his face toward the window.

FACE + VERB

look, peer, stare

The old woman's face peered anxiously through the window curtains as the strangers arrived.

PREP

in the/sb's ~

She felt the warm sun on her face as she walked along the beach.

on the/sb's ~

He had a big smile on his face when he opened his birthday presents.

PHRASES

a sea of faces

(noun.) expression on sb's face

ADJ

animated, cheerful, friendly, grinning, happy, radiant, smiling | anxious, frightened, troubled | angry, furious

hard, set, stern

She turned away with a stern face, refusing to listen to any explanation.

grave, serious

long, sad

The children had sad faces when they learned that the school trip was cancelled.

funny

My little brother pulled a funny face to make the baby stop crying.

honest, kind | expectant | rapt

expressive, open

His expressive face showed exactly how he felt about the surprise party.

blank, expressionless, impassive

When she heard the bad news, her face went completely blank for a moment.

VERB + FACE

make, pull

The clown made funny faces to entertain the children at the birthday party.

She searched his face nervously, trying to understand if he was telling the truth.

FACE + VERB

brighten, glow, light up

When she heard the good news, her face brightened immediately.

beam, smile

Her face beamed with pride as she watched her daughter graduate from university.

cloud, crumple, drop, fall

When she told him the test results, his face fell and he sat down slowly.

clear

When she heard the good news, her worried face cleared instantly.

darken, harden, set

When he heard the bad news, his face hardened and he said nothing.

soften

When she heard the good news, her worried face softened into a genuine smile.

flame, flush, go red, redden

Her face went red when she realized she had called her teacher by the wrong name.

pale

When I told him the bad news, his face paled and he sat down slowly.

contort, crease, pucker, tighten, twist

When she heard the bad news, her face tightened and she looked worried.

betray sth, reveal sth

When he heard the news, his face revealed his disappointment immediately.

PREP

on sb's ~

There was a huge smile on her face when she opened the birthday present.

PHRASES

a face like thunder

(noun.) front part/side of sth

ADJ

front, rear | North, South, etc.

steep

The climbers carefully descended the steep face of the mountain before sunset.

cliff, rock | clock

PHRASES

face down/downwards, face up/upwards

The letter was lying face up on my desk when I got home.

(noun.) person

ADJ

familiar, (same) old

When I walked into the classroom, I was happy to see so many familiar faces from last year.

different, fresh, new, strange, unfamiliar

famous, well-known

The new coffee shop quickly became popular with well-known faces from the entertainment industry.

VERB + FACE

see

(noun.) particular character/aspect of sth

ADJ

human

The charity gave a human face to the problem of homelessness in our city.

acceptable

unacceptable

Child labor remains the unacceptable face of fast fashion in developing countries.

true

changing

The changing face of technology means young people today have very different job opportunities.

Definitions

noun

The front part of the head of a human or other animal, featuring the eyes, nose, and mouth, and the surrounding area.

That girl has a pretty face.

The monkey pressed its face against the railings.

One's facial expression.

Why the sad face?

A distorted facial expression; an expression of displeasure, insult, etc.

Children! Stop making faces at each other!

The amount expressed on a bill, note, bond, etc., without any interest or discount; face value.

MAKE Money-wholesale U.S. stamps—buy mint stamps below face. Be a dealer. Send $1.00 for two giant catalogs, refunded first order. Von Stein, Bernardsville, N.J.

With certain exceptions for valuable stamps, dealers and many collectors are only willing to offer a percentage of face (80-90%). So instead, Lloyd took the sheets to work and posted a message asking if anyone wanted to buy sheets of old U.S. stamps at face.

The mouth.

Shut your face!

He's always stuffing his face with chips.

verb

To position oneself or itself so as to have one's face closest to (something).

Face the sun.

Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes. The clear light of the bright autumn morning had no terrors for youth and health like hers.

To have its front closest to, or in the direction of (something else).

Turn the chair so it faces the table.

He gain'd alſo with his Forces that part of Britain which faces Ireland,

To cause (something) to turn or present a face or front, as in a particular direction.

The croupier delicately faced her other two cards with the tip of his spatula. A four! She had lost!

To improve the display of stock by ensuring items aren't upside down or back to front and are pulled forwards.

I've put out the stock and broken down the boxes, it's just facing left to do.

In my first job, I learned how to operate a till and to face the store to high standards.

To be presented or confronted with; to have in prospect.

We are facing an uncertain future.

The railway is still vital to Jordan's export trade, but in spite of the poor quality of the road, diesel lorries are gradually robbing it of freight traffic, and anyone who can afford to fly does so rather than face the long desert journey by rail.

phrase

A mnemonic phrase to help remember the order of the four spaces of a musical treble clef in order from the bottom to the top.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

noun — the feelings expressed on a person's face

noun — impudent aggressiveness

noun — a specific size and style of type within a type family

font
fount
typeface
case

noun — a contorted facial expression

grimace

noun — a surface forming part of the outside of an object

side

verb — deal with (something unpleasant) head on

confront

verb — present somebody with something, usually to accuse or critic

verb — oppose, as in hostility or a competition

confront

verb — be oriented in a certain direction, often with respect to an

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

close the face

To turn the face of the bat inwards, in order to hit the ball to the leg side.

until one is blue in the face

For a hopelessly long time; used especially in respect to discussing, explaining, insisting, etc.

You can explain it until you're blue in the face, but he will never understand.

in your face

A derisive and contemptuous exclamation of triumph over one's interlocutor.

I got picked for the cheerleading squad, and YOU didn't. In your face!

face value

The amount or value listed on a bill, card, note, stamp, etc.; the stated value or amount.

save face

To take an action or make a gesture intended to preserve one's reputation or honour.

He tried to make reparations to those he had injured, partly to save face.

Example Bank

That girl has a pretty face.

Wiktionary

The monkey pressed its face against the railings.

Wiktionary

It was a joy to snatch some brief respite, and find himself in the rectory drawing–room. Listening here was as pleasant as talking; just to watch was pleasant. The young priests who lived here wore ca

Wiktionary

Face the sun.

Wiktionary

Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes. The clear light of the bright autumn morning had no terrors for youth and health like hers.

Wiktionary

Smooth and slender and naked, Mary Rittersdorf faced her husband.

Wiktionary

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, face is marked as informal, slang. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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