Meaning & use
keeping face
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“keeping face” is a form of “keep face”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
phraseuncountable
the act of avoiding public shame or embarrassment and keeping others' respect
Grammar: Used as a noun phrase; often appears after prepositions like 'about' or 'for': worried about keeping face.
Patterns
- about keeping face
- for keeping face
In many cultures, keeping face is more important than winning an argument.
He apologized privately to avoid losing face, but keeping face in public was his main concern.
The manager's decision was less about money and more about keeping face with the clients.
Common combinations
- keeping face with someone
- She was careful about keeping face with her colleagues.
- losing face
- Admitting the mistake meant losing face in front of the team.
- save face
- They offered him a smaller role to save face.
Synonyms and how they differ
- saving face
- This is the more common phrase for the same idea, especially when someone does something to avoid embarrassment.
- preserving dignity
- This is a more general, formal way to say it, not limited to public respect.
Opposites
Word family
- face-saving adjective
- Describing an action that helps someone avoid embarrassment, as in a face-saving compromise.
Commonly confused: keeping face or face the music?
keeping face vs face the music
This idiom means to accept the unpleasant results of your actions, not to protect your reputation.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'keeping face' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Only option B uses 'keeping face' as the idiom meaning avoiding public shame. The other options confuse it with literal 'face' or with the phrase 'keep a secret' or 'keep promises'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “keeping face”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.