put a brave face on

verb

To present oneself as calm, confident, or untroubled in the face of difficulty, disappointment, fear or adversity.

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put on a brave face
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Meanings

verbput a brave face on (third-person singular simple present puts a brave face on, present participle putting a brave face on, simple past and past participle put a brave face on)

present singular third person puts a brave face on · participle present putting a brave face on

  1. idiomaticTo present oneself as calm, confident, or untroubled in the face of difficulty, disappointment, fear or adversity.

    Nevertheless De Comines put a brave face on the matter, and told the council that he had already received information of the league and had sent dispatches to his master on the subject. 'After dinner,' continues De Comines, […]

    2022 December 10, John Addington Symonds, The Renaissance in Italy (Complete 7 Volumes), DigiCat

    Synonyms: put on a brave face

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo present oneself as calm, confident, or untroubled in the face of difficulty, disappointment, fear or adversity.

Similar
put on a brave face
Cite this entry
APA

put a brave face on. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20a%20brave%20face%20on

MLA

“put a brave face on.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20a%20brave%20face%20on. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “put a brave face on,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20a%20brave%20face%20on.

Source: put a brave face on on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.