lose face

idiom

: to lose other people's respect
She was afraid that she would lose face if she admitted her mistake.

Examples of lose face in a Sentence

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Xi may lose face for admitting and correcting mistakes, but his grip on power is so strong that this would barely dent his authority. Yuen Yuen Ang, Foreign Affairs, 2 Dec. 2022 The Giants, to not lose face, were forced to sign L.T. Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 15 Mar. 2024 Oxfordians propose that an aristocrat would lose face by publicly writing for a theater company — tradesmen, after all. Michael Dirda, Washington Post, 21 Apr. 2023 Know-It-Alls do not like to lose face by being wrong. Womensmedia, Forbes, 5 Oct. 2021 This made a deal exceedingly difficult, because Ukraine cannot live with Russia annexing their territory, and Russia would lose face giving it back. Jack Nasher, Forbes, 3 Jan. 2023 Oxfordians propose that an aristocrat would lose face by publicly writing for a theater company — tradesmen, after all. Michael Dirda, Washington Post, 21 Apr. 2023 China was hoping for something similar with Russia and the ILRS was announced with enough fanfare that Beijing might not want to lose face by simply walking away from the idea. Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 30 Sep. 2022 This is likely to fuel a cycle of blame, with neither party wanting to lose face or take responsibility. Anna Shields, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2021

Dictionary Entries Near lose face

Cite this Entry

“Lose face.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lose%20face. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

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