in the face of
Idioms-
Despite the opposition of, notwithstanding, as in In the face of published statistics, they insist there is no flu epidemic . [Early 1800s] Also see fly in the face of .
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When confronted with, as in It is hard for brokers to be cheerful in the face of a falling stock market . [Late 1800s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Even in the face of continued pessimism from energy analysts, transportation exports, and geopolitical strategists, stocks rose on Tuesday.
From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026
It flew in the face of the mantra of the “quiet professional” that suffused military culture, a kind of sober maturity that was critical to judicious use of deadly force.
From Slate • Apr. 13, 2026
“Let’s go around it,” the younger Saavedra said, quoting his father’s mantra in the face of problems.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026
One of the dark ideas of the novel is that the aristocracy’s moral and spiritual bankruptcy left them helpless in the face of Europe’s rising totalitarian ideologies.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
It is a mysterious thing how cheerful people become in the face of disaster.
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
