lose face

1. Be embarrassed or humiliated, especially publicly. For example, Terry lost face when his assistant was promoted and became his boss. Both this expression and the underlying concept come from Asia; the term itself is a translation of the Chinese tiu lien and has been used in English since the late 1800s. Also see save face.

Example Sentences

But the dad wasn't prepared to lose face.

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If he does too little, he will lose face; if he does too much, he could lose everything.

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But being the swaggering attorney that Trump seems to want – Blanche has also insisted that the loser of the 2020 election continue to be referred to as “President Trump” — has also made him lose face, his client watching as Judge Merchan told Blanche he was “losing all credibility” with the court.

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Retired Det Sgt Willie Mason claims senior officers did not want to lose face.

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"They won't want to lose face" says Fitton-Brown.

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