faced

faced — verb

1. When someone faced a difficult or unpleasant situation, they had to deal with it

1.verbtransitiveB1
Definition

When someone faced a difficult or unpleasant situation, they had to deal with it or experience it, without being able to avoid it.

Example

Nikhil faced a huge fine after parking in the wrong space.

face + fine / punishment

The small hospital faced serious money problems last winter.

face + financial difficulty

Common collocations
  • face a problem
  • face a challenge
  • face a crisis
  • face a fine
  • face criticism
  • face a choice
  • face difficulties
Synonyms
  • confronted

    stronger and more direct than 'faced'; suggests actively standing up to the problem

  • encountered

    suggests meeting something unexpectedly, rather than having to deal with it unavoidably

  • dealt with

    focuses on the action taken afterward, not just the experience of having the problem

Antonyms
  • avoided

    to stay away from a problem instead of having to deal with it

  • escaped

    to get away from a difficult situation without addressing it

Grammar Patterns

face + noun phrase (difficult situation)

Usage Note

This sense is commonly used with nouns that describe problems or negative situations such as a fine, a crisis, criticism, or a difficult choice.

Common Mistakes

Nikhil opposed a huge fine after parking in the wrong space.
Nikhil faced a huge fine after parking in the wrong space.
'oppose' means to actively resist something; 'face' means to have to deal with it whether you resist or not.
The hospital met serious money problems last winter.
The hospital faced serious money problems last winter.
'meet' suggests encountering by chance; 'face' suggests the problem is unavoidable and must be dealt with.

2. If a building, a window, a seat, or a person faced a particular direction or thi

2.verbintransitiveB1
Definition

If a building, a window, a seat, or a person faced a particular direction or thing, the front part was pointing toward it.

Example

The hotel room faced the ocean, so Élise could hear the waves at night.

face + natural feature (the ocean, the sea, the lake)

Their new apartment faced south and got sunlight all afternoon.

Common collocations
  • face the ocean
  • face the street
  • face south/north
  • face the front
  • face each other
Synonyms
Antonyms
  • backed onto

    to have the back of a building pointing toward something

Grammar Patterns

face + direction (north, south)

face + noun phrase (the ocean, the street)

Usage Note

Used for the physical orientation of objects and spaces. The thing that faces a direction does not move — it is simply positioned that way.

Common Mistakes

The hotel room was facing to the ocean.
The hotel room faced the ocean.
Do not add 'to' after 'face' when describing direction toward a thing; 'face' takes a direct object.
The church was faced the square.
The church faced the square.
'Faced' in this sense is active, not passive. Do not use 'was faced' for physical orientation.

3. To finally accept that something unpleasant or difficult is true, especially aft

3.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

To finally accept that something unpleasant or difficult is true, especially after trying to avoid or ignore it.

Example

After years of lies, Christopher finally faced the truth about his business partner.

face the truth about [something]

The city council faced the fact that the old bridge was too dangerous to use.

face the fact that + clause

Common collocations
  • face the truth
  • face reality
  • face the fact that
  • face facts
  • face one's fears
Synonyms
  • acknowledged

    less emotional; simply admits something is true without the weight of avoidance

  • confronted

    stronger; suggests actively challenging the unpleasant truth

Antonyms
  • avoided

    kept away from or refused to admit the truth

  • denied

    refused to accept that something unpleasant was true

Grammar Patterns

face + the truth / facts / reality

face + the fact that + clause

Usage Note

Often used with the phrase 'face the fact that' followed by a complete clause. This sense implies that the person was avoiding the truth before finally accepting it.

Common Mistakes

He faced that his business was failing.
He faced the fact that his business was failing.
'Face' in this sense usually needs a noun phrase like 'the fact', 'the truth', or 'reality' before the 'that'-clause.
She faced up the problem.
She faced the problem.' or 'She faced up to the problem.
'Face up to' is a phrasal verb that needs 'to'. Without 'up to', use 'face' alone with a direct object.

4. To compete against an opponent in a sports match, game, election, or legal case.

4.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

To compete against an opponent in a sports match, game, election, or legal case.

Example

The young team faced a much stronger opponent in the final match.

face + opponent in a match

Vinícius faced his former team for the first time since leaving them.

Common collocations
  • face an opponent
  • face a team
  • face a rival
  • face a challenger
  • face a player
  • face in the final
Synonyms
  • played against

    less formal; common in everyday sports talk

  • competed against

    more formal and general; works for any competitive situation

  • took on

    informal; suggests a challenge or test of ability

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

face + opponent / team / player

Usage Note

Common in sports reporting, court cases, and election coverage. Use for any situation where two sides directly compete against each other.

Common Mistakes

Our team played facing a strong opponent.
Our team faced a strong opponent.
Do not use 'facing' after 'play' as a second verb; use 'faced' alone.
Vinicius met his old team in the final.
Vinicius faced his old team in the final.
'Meet' can work but 'face' more clearly implies direct competition rather than a chance encounter.
Phrasal verbs

faced up to

phrasal verb

To finally accept and deal with a difficult situation or unpleasant truth, especially one that you had been avoiding for a long time.

After months of denial, Minho finally faced up to his drinking problem and asked for help.

The government must face up to the fact that the education system needs major changes.

Word family

  • face
    nounA2
  • face
    verbB1
  • facial
    adjectiveB2
  • facing
    nounB2
  • facet
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

"Faced" (sense 1), "confronted", "encountered", and "dealt with" all describe coming into contact with a problem, but they differ in tone and timing. "Faced" is the most neutral and common: it means a difficult situation was present and had to be dealt with, without focusing on the response ("Nikhil faced a huge fine"). "Confronted" is more active and direct — it suggests the person chose to meet the problem head-on rather than just experiencing it ("She confronted her manager about the unfair schedule"). "Encountered" implies an unexpected or accidental meeting ("The team encountered a problem with the software"), lacking the sense of inevitability that "faced" carries. "Dealt with" shifts the focus to the action taken after the problem appeared ("The hospital dealt with the crisis by hiring more staff"), whereas "faced" simply means the problem existed and had to be handled. Use "faced" when you want to emphasize that the difficulty was unavoidable; use "confronted" for a deliberate, courageous response; use "encountered" for surprise meetings with problems; and use "dealt with" when the solution matters more than the problem itself.

faced ↗confrontedencountereddealt with

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • be faced with
  • come face to face with

Prepositions

  • with (in 'faced with')
  • by (in passive 'was faced by')

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

"Face" entered English from Old French "face" (meaning face, appearance, or front), which came from Latin "facies" (form, shape, appearance, or face). The verb "face" appeared in the 1400s with the meaning "to stand opposite to" — like two people standing face to face. By the 1500s, it had developed the sense of confronting something directly, which led to the modern meaning of "having to deal with a difficult situation." The past tense "faced" has been used since at least the 1600s.