English

Verb

lose face ‎(third-person singular simple present loses face, present participle losing face, simple past and past participle lost face)

1. (idiomatic) To lose the respect of others; to be humiliated or experience public disgrace.
   • 1986, John Shelby Spong, Beyond Moralism: A Contemporary View of the Ten Commandments, HarperCollins (2000), ISBN 9781878282149, unnumbered page:

     Ahithophel, Absalom's chief counsel, hanged himself when he lost face after his advice was rejected.

   • 2011, Mel Robbins, Stop Saying You're Fine: Discover a More Powerful You, Crown Archetype (2011), ISBN 9780307716729, page 221:

     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.

   • 2012, Sharon Pincott, Battle for the President's Elephants: Life, Lunacy and Elation in the African Bush, Jacana Media (2012), ISBN 9781431403592, page 97:

     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.

Related terms

• loss of face

Translations

See also

• give face
• save face

Face (sociological concept) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia