MEANING
To accept the criticism, punishment or other unpleasant consequences of something you have done.
Use it for
facing criticism after a mistake; accepting responsibility for misconduct; returning to answer for a bad decision; contrasting accountability with avoidanceDescribes accepting criticism or punishment for one’s actions rather than avoiding accountability. Writing functions: Consequences.
Words that belong together
- have to face the music
- return to face the music
On the page
He deleted the false claim, then went to face the music at the editorial meeting.
When the accounts were checked, the treasurer could no longer avoid facing the music.
Word forms
- Base
- face the music
Usage notes
Verbal idiom: face/faces/faced/facing the music. Music is uncountable in this expression. Register: informal. Commonness: common (qualitative editorial estimate, informed by dictionaries/corpus).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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