face — EN↔ES

face

/AmE feɪs

, BrE feɪs

noun

1 [Vocabulary notes (English)] [countable]:

a (of person, animal) cara f, rostro m

his face was badly scarred tenía la cara llena de cicatrices

she has a thin/oval face tiene la or una cara delgada/ovalada

face down(ward)/up(ward) boca abajo/arriba

there were a few red faces about it más de uno se puso colorado por eso, a más de uno se le cayó la cara de vergüenza por eso

to slap sb in the face darle una bofetada a algn; darle una cachetada a algn (Latin America); cruzarle la cara a algn

b (person):

a new face una cara nueva

always the same (old) faces! ¡siempre las mismas caras (conocidas)!

a familiar face una cara conocida

I'd know that face anywhere! esa cara la reconocería en cualquier sitio

I know that face from somewhere me parece cara conocida

I never forget a face no se me borra una cara, nunca olvido una cara

c (expression) cara f

you should have seen her face tendrías que haber visto la cara que puso

a face as long as a fiddle cara larga

he had a face as long as a fiddle andaba con cara larga

to have a face like a funeral tener cara de entierro or de velorio

a (appearance, nature) (no plural) fisonomía f

the changing face of America/society la cambiante fisonomía de América/la sociedad

b [countable]: (aspect) aspecto m

the many faces of industry las muchas caras de la industria

c [uncountable]: (dignity):

to lose face desprestigiarse, quedar mal

to save face guardar las apariencias

loss of face desprestigio m

d [uncountable]: (insolence) (dated) to have the face to + inf tener la desfachatez de + inf

3 [countable]: (in geometry) cara f

4 [countable]:

a (of coin, medal) cara f

b (of clock, watch) esfera f; carátula f (Mexico)

c (of building) fachada f

5 [countable]:

a (of mountainside, cliff) pared f

b coalface

6 (surface):

the face of the moon la cara de la luna

transitive verb

1 (be opposite):

she turned to face him/the wall se volvió hacia él/la pared

he was sitting facing the wall estaba sentado en frente de la pared

the children lined up facing each other los niños formaron dos filas frente a frente

the illustration facing page nine la ilustración que está frente a la página nueve

this wall faces the square esta pared da a la plaza

the hotel faces the sea el hotel está frente al mar

2 (confront) ‹opponent/rival/superior› enfrentarse a

the two teams will face each other in June los dos equipos se enfrentarán en junio

I don't know how I'll face him when he finds out no sé cómo le podré dar la cara cuando se entere

to be faced with sth estar or verse frente a or ante algo

we are faced with a serious problem estamos or nos vemos frente a or ante un grave problema, se nos plantea un grave problema

a (be presented with) enfrentarse a, hacer frente a

I face that problem every day todos los días me encuentro con or me enfrento a un problema así

we face heavy increases next year el año que viene tendremos que hacer frente a fuertes gastos

b (contemplate willingly):

I can't face going through all that again no podría volver a pasar por todo eso

I don't think I could face another bowl of rice creo que si me dan otro plato de arroz me muero

he couldn't face a future without her no se sentía capaz de enfrentar el futuro sin ella

c (lie ahead of):

several problems face us se nos presentan or se nos plantean varios problemas

defeat faces us unless we act at once si no actuamos inmediatamente nos espera la derrota

a (Building) ‹wall/surface› recubrir

the front of the house is faced in/with stone el frente de la casa está recubierto de piedra

b (Clothing) ‹sleeve/collar› forrar (por fuera)

the cuffs were faced with velvet los puños eran de terciopelo

intransitive verb

the house faces north(ward)/east(ward) la casa está orientada or da al norte/este

the balcony faces out over the square el balcón da or mira a la plaza

she walked facing into the wind caminaba contra el viento

I was facing the other way miraba para el otro lado

about face! ¡media vuelta!

right face/left face! ¡a la derecha/izquierda!

Idioms

sb's face lights up

her whole face lit up se le iluminó la cara or el rostro or el semblante

sb's face doesn't fit

if your face doesn't fit … si no le/les caes bien …

not just a pretty face

I'm not just a pretty face, you know! no te creas que soy tan tonta

to put one's face on

I must put my face on (humorous) tengo que maquillarme or pintarme

to put on a brave face

she put on a brave face for the funeral se mantuvo compuesta para el funeral

to feed one's face, to stuff one's face (informal) atiborrarse de comida; ponerse morado (Spain) (informal)

in the face of sth

it's hard to maintain standards in the face of rising costs es difícil mantener los niveles de calidad con los costos en aumento;

in the face of stiff opposition en medio de or ante una fuerte oposición

to blow up in sb's face salir mal

to fall flat on one's face caerse de bruces; (blunder) darse de narices

to fly in the face of sth hacer caso omiso de algo

to sb's face a la cara, en la cara;

I told him to his face se lo dije a or en la cara

to set one's face against sb/sth oponerse decididamente a algn/algo

to show one's face aparecer;

she never showed her face all evening no le vimos el pelo or no apareció en toda la noche;

he'll never dare show his face here again no va a atreverse a aparecer por aquí

to be staring sb in the face

the book/solution was staring me in the face tenía el libro/la solución delante de las narices;

ruin was staring him in the face estaba a un paso de la ruina

to do something until one is blue in the face

to talk/argue/shout until one is blue in the face hablar/discutir/gritar hasta cansarse

to keep a straight face

I could hardly keep a straight face casi no podía aguantarme (de) la risa

to make a face, to pull a face (British) poner mala cara;

the children were making faces at each other los niños se hacían muecas

to pull a long face, to wear a long face

she pulled a long face puso (la) cara larga

to put a brave face on sth, to put a bold face on sth

she put a brave face on it, she put a bold face on it (le) puso al mal tiempo buena cara

on the face of it aparentemente

with a human face

socialism with a human face socialismo de rostro humano

to disappear off the face of the earth desaparecer de la faz de la tierra

let's face it

they're right, let's face it tienen razón, hay que reconocerlo;

let's face it, we have no alternative seamos realistas, no nos queda otra alternativa

to put the best face on sth

they decided to put the best face on her misdemeanors le restaron importancia a su mal comportamiento

Phrasal Verbs:

● (British):

v + adv

(turn) «soldiers» dar media vuelta

v + o + adv

(cause to turn) ‹troops› mandar dar media vuelta a

●

v + o + adv, v + adv + o

hacerle frente a

●

v + o + adv, v + adv + o

afrontar, hacer frente a

●

v + adv + prep + o

‹reality/responsibility› afrontar, hacer frente a, enfrentar

we have to face up to the fact that … tenemos que aceptar or reconocer que …