Dictionary

lose face en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ˌluːz ˈfeɪs/
• (Australia) audio

Etymology

Calque from Chinese 丟臉／丢脸 (diūliǎn) or 丟面子／丢面子 (diū miànzi), both literally “lose face”.

Meanings

1. (idiomatic, intransitive) To lose the respect of others; to be humiliated or experience public disgrace.
   • When you start to feel unmotivated, you will look for ways to weasel out of your commitments. We all do it. If there's a stealth way to back out, without ever losing face, you will do it without hesitation. 2011, Mel Robbins, Stop Saying You're Fine: Discover a More Powerful You, Crown Archetype, published 2011, →ISBN, page 221:
   • The intelligence sources said the Chinese would not want to lose face. One source said, however: "The show of military muscle has provoked an international reaction and that may be enough face saved." 1996 March 15, Michael Evans, “China offensive cannot be ruled out, experts say”, in The Times, number 65,528, →ISSN, →OCLC, Overseas News, page 14, column 7:
   • "The Chengtu revolutionaries were fantastically colourful in the Szechwanese manner—they costumed themselves as heroes of the stage and their energies were chiefly occupied in tying ropes across the main streets so that when Imperial officials rode by in their litters they would have to get down and crawl under, losing face. 1942 March, “Notes and News: Monument to a Stillborn Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 88:
   • Ahithophel, Absalom's chief counsel, hanged himself when he lost face after his advice was rejected. 1986, John Shelby Spong, Beyond Moralism: A Contemporary View of the Ten Commandments, HarperCollins, published 2000, →ISBN:
   • A schoolboy obsessed with losing face after a classroom quarrel stabbed a younger boy through the heart before walking away "looking as though he had been told off for chewing gum", a court heard yesterday. 2004 July 8, Martin Wainwright, “Stab case schoolboy 'feared losing face'”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
   • He had arranged for one of his managers to be present in the office with us, so I should have realised immediately that there was little chance of him backing down since that would have meant losing face in front of a subordinate. 2012, Sharon Pincott, Battle for the President's Elephants: Life, Lunacy and Elation in the African Bush, Jacana Media, published 2012, →ISBN, page 97:

Forms

Relateds

loss of face · save face · give face · egg on one's face

Translations (49)

scn pèrdiri a facci (lose respect of others) · eo perdi la vizaĝon (lose respect of others) · sv tappa ansiktet (lose respect of others) · ru потеря́ть лицо́ (lose respect of others) · cmn 丟人 /丢人 (lose respect of others) · pl tracić twarz (lose respect of others) · cmn 丟臉 /丢脸 (lose respect of others) · tr saygınlığını yitirmek (lose respect of others) · ko 낯이 깎이다 (lose respect of others) · scn appizzari-cci a facci (lose respect of others) · nb miste ansikt (lose respect of others) · tr yüzü kalmamak (lose respect of others) · vi mất mặt (lose respect of others) · es quedar mal (lose respect of others) · it perdere la faccia (lose respect of others) · fi menettää kasvonsa (lose respect of others) · nl gezichtsverlies lijden (lose respect of others) · fr perdre la face (lose respect of others) · es perder el pundonor (lose respect of others) · es desmerecer (lose respect of others) · de das Gesicht verlieren (lose respect of others) · es desprestigiarse (lose respect of others) · lb d'Gesiicht verléieren (lose respect of others) · el ρεζιλεύομαι (lose respect of others) · be стра́ціць твар (lose respect of others) · km ខ្មាស (lose respect of others) · th เสียหน้า (lose respect of others) · pl stracić twarz (lose respect of others) · id kehilangan muka (lose respect of others) · sv förlora ansiktet (lose respect of others) · tr itibarını kaybetmek (lose respect of others) · da tabe ansigt (lose respect of others) · ko 체면을 잃다 (lose respect of others) · tr mahçup olmak (lose respect of others) · pt perder o respeito (lose respect of others) · ms jatuh air muka (lose respect of others) · es quedar mal parado (lose respect of others) · ja 面目を失う (lose respect of others) · bo སྤམ་ཤོར (lose respect of others) · cmn 丟面子 /丢面子 (lose respect of others) · cs ztratit tvář (lose respect of others) · nn miste andlet (lose respect of others) · nl het gezicht verliezen (lose respect of others) · es salir mal parado (lose respect of others) · nn miste ansikt (lose respect of others) · nb tape ansikt (lose respect of others) · th หน้าแหก (lose respect of others) · uk втра́тити обли́ччя (lose respect of others) · ko 얼굴이 깎이다 (lose respect of others)