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Glite Dictionary
to unman someone's facade

to unman someone's facade

9.9
To make someone seem less brave by showing their fear
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : desenmascarar
  • It took only a few probing questions to unman her facade of confidence.

Examples

  • The defeat was enough to unman his facade and leave him visibly shaken.

  • Don't unman her facade in front of everyone!

  • The relentless criticism slowly unmanned his facade, exposing his insecurities.

  • Why would you unman someone's facade like that?

  • A simple comment from her friend was enough to unman her facade, revealing her true feelings of doubt.

  • During the intense debate, the unexpected question served to unman his facade, showing his vulnerability.

  • When he lost his job, the news managed to unman his facade, and he finally admitted to feeling overwhelmed.

Synonyms

to unmask
vsto unman someone's facade
23 4.2

Show what someone or something really is

focuses specifically on showing weakness behind a brave exterior
to take the mask off
vsto unman someone's facade
1 7.2

Show who you really are instead of pretending

exposes a person's hidden weakness behind a brave or tough outward show

How Exposed

to expose
479 3.2
to lay bare
2 5.5
to unman someone's facade
9.9
to unmask
23 4.2
to reveal
∞ 2.3
to show
∞ 1.0
hint
229 1.5

Surface Forms

unman someone's facade infinitive
unmanned someone's facade past
unmanned someone's facade past participle
unmanning someone's facade present participle
unmans someone's facade third person singular

Morphology

unman + someone's + facade

The verb 'unman' (to make someone feel weak or powerless) plus 'facade' (a false outward appearance) yields the sense of making someone's outward show lose its force or exposing the weakness behind it, so the overall meaning is derivable from the parts. However, applying a bodily/state-change verb to an abstract target ('facade') is metaphorical and requires a pragmatic inference, so the relation is only partially predictable to learners.

Etymology

Unman someone's facade creates a clear image: imagine taking off a mask or knocking off armor from someone who looks brave. unman means to make a person feel less strong and facade is the front they show. So it means to reveal the hidden 'weakness' or 'doubt' behind someone's 'brave' show.