Janus-faced
Americanadjective
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having two faces, one looking forward, one looking backward, as the Roman deity Janus.
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having two contrasting aspects, as the alternation of mood in a capricious person.
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two-faced; deceitful.
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aware of or concerned with polarities; seeing different and contrasting aspects.
a Janus-faced view of history.
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having or containing contrasting characteristics.
a Janus-faced policy.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of Janus-faced
First recorded in 1675–85; Janus ( def. ) + faced ( def. )
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.
Every renaissance is Janus-faced, he notes, looking “backward and forward at the same time.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2025
“The State cannot be allowed to take a Janus-faced position — wholeheartedly proffering David’s allegations of abuse on the State’s criminal proceedings, while disavowing or discrediting those same allegations in David’s civil action,” they wrote.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 12, 2024
It illuminates not just Lincoln's Janus-faced character, but the much broader story of humankind's complex relationship with the animal world.
From Salon ● Jun. 4, 2023
These are small matters, however, against a bigger picture of a world on the cusp of modernity, with Conan Doyle standing Janus-faced, looking forward and back between scientific method and spiritualism; between liberalism and tradition.
From New York Times ● Jul. 17, 2018
I took out the Janus-faced token, gazed at it one final time, and handed it to Horatio.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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.
