face up to

verb

To confront a condition or situation, typically one that is unpleasant or uncomfortable.

“We must all face up to the fact that we're not getting any younger.”

Similar
bite the biscuitbite the bullet
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Meanings

verbface up to (third-person singular simple present faces up to, present participle facing up to, simple past and past participle faced up to)

present singular third person faces up to · participle present facing up to · participle past faced up to · past faced up to

  1. To confront a condition or situation, typically one that is unpleasant or uncomfortable.

    We must all face up to the fact that we're not getting any younger.

    1 more example

    I can't seem to face up to the facts / I'm tense and nervous and I can't relax

    1977, Talking Heads, “Psycho Killer”, in Talking Heads: 77

    Synonyms: bite the biscuit, bite the bullet

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo confront a condition or situation, typically one that is unpleasant or uncomfortable.

Similar
bite the biscuitbite the bullet
Also see
abide byacquiescebite the biscuitface the musicgrit one's teeth

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 面對 /面对
  • 面對 /面对 (miànduì)to confront
Finnish myöntää
  • myöntääto confront
German sich etwas stellen
  • sich etwas stellento confront
Polish stawiać czoła, stawić czoła
  • stawiać czołato confront
  • stawić czołato confront
Portuguese encarar
  • encararto confront
Cite this entry
APA

face up to. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/face%20up%20to

MLA

“face up to.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/face%20up%20to. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “face up to,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/face%20up%20to.

Source: face up to on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.