on the face of it
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Regretting using a middleman for a courier service, however opportunistic you believe the company to be, is not — on the face of it — a good enough reason to cancel the charge.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
Oracle has a $523 billion revenue backlog which is impressive on the face of it.
From Barron's ● Dec. 11, 2025
Achieving an industrial margin of over 10% is impressive on the face of it, but the figure is flattered by higher R&D capitalization and a property sale in buses, Bernstein says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025
After all that’s what everyone close to him told him to his face, and on the face of it, Donny seemed great.
From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2025
He didn’t seem embarrassed so much as just reluctant to ask something that on the face of it seemed so singular and odd.
From This Side of Wild by Gary Paulsen
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.
