at face value, take
Idioms-
Accept from its outward appearance, as in You can't always take a manufacturer's advertisements at face value; they're bound to exaggerate. Literally this idiom has referred to the monetary value printed on a bank note, stock certificate, bond, or other financial instrument since the 1870s. The figurative usage is from the late 1800s.
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see at face value.
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.
The main problem with “A League of His Own” is Mr. Stein’s willingness to take at face value Spalding’s claims in his 1911 book, “America’s National Game,” which systematically inflates Spalding’s role in events.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
We have to worry about whether videos are trustworthy, something that we used to take at face value.
From Salon • Apr. 2, 2024
"I think we can't entirely take at face value the bookies' odds as a predictor or a forecast of this election outcome," Foord says.
From BBC • Jun. 18, 2022
After composing the piece, Bruckner suggested a scenario for the first movement that is hard to take at face value — about gates opening to a medieval city, knights on horses, woodland magic and such.
From New York Times • Nov. 27, 2019
Claiming that his physical distance from you is a result of his job and nothing to do with his own preferences and priorities is a cop-out, and one that you shouldn’t take at face value.
From Slate • May 10, 2018
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.
