face-saving

British  

adjective

1. maintaining dignity or prestige

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Explanation

Anything face-saving protects you from humiliation. Slip and fall in the school cafeteria, and you might use the face-saving tactic of pretending you did it on purpose. You know, for a joke. The concept of something being face-saving varies between cultures; what's undignified or dishonorable in one might be no big deal in another. It's all about the idea of face, or dignity in front of a social group, and the potential loss of it. In a negotiation between two countries, the winning side sometimes grants some face-saving concessions to the loser, to make their loss less humiliating or embarrassing.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

face-saving

Andrew Bishop’s base case remains that a face-saving compromise will be achieved by the U.S. and Iran.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

Eventually, it’s likely that the Justice Department finds a face-saving way to drop the inquiry and allow Warsh’s nomination to move forward, said Stifel chief Washington policy strategist Brian Gardner.

From Barron's ● Feb. 5, 2026

Another European official briefed on the talks said the meeting with Rutte provided Trump with a face-saving opportunity for a de-escalation that had become necessary given the global backlash and the reaction of financial markets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026

Brazil came up with a face-saving idea of roadmaps on deforestation and fossil fuels that would exist outside the COP.

From BBC ● Nov. 22, 2025

Instead, behind closed doors, a face-saving deal had quickly been struck.

From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini