on the face of it

Idioms  

1. Seemingly, based on available evidence, as in On the face of it this project should break even in six months. This idiom uses face in the sense of “a superficial view.” [Early 1700s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

on the face of it

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

There are 28 key points and there are several on the face of it that could be acceptable to Ukraine.

From BBC ● Nov. 21, 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

This is on the face of it implausible; and in any case we have a good portrait of Guidobaldo, attributed to Raphael, and this is not he.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

• apparently
• doubtless
• probably
• seemingly
• supposedly
• surely