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Glite Dictionary
to stare fear in the face

to stare fear in the face

1 7.0
To look at your fear and act without avoiding it
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : enfrentar el miedo
  • To overcome her anxiety, she chose to stare fear in the face by giving her first public speech.
  • look fear in the face

Examples

  • Eleanor's strength, courage, and confidence are built by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.

    Blog text (21)

  • There, I could look my fear in the face, rather than wait by the phone for news.

    Blog text (25)

  • Look fear in the face and stand in its presence with total confidence.

    Blog text (11)

  • But she looked fear in the face.

    Blog text (6)

  • This week's challenge is to look fear in the face.

    Blog text (14)

  • "You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop and look fear in the face."

    Blog text (14)

  • Look fear in the face and stand in its presence with total confidence in God and His promises.

    Blog text (11)

  • This weekend, I decided to stare fear in the face and try skydiving for the first time.

  • He had to stare fear in the face during the interview to confront his self-doubt.

Synonyms

to face
vsto stare fear in the face
∞ 2.2

To deal with a difficult situation or person

is narrower, focused on handling what scares you rather than all difficulties
to confront
vsto stare fear in the face
359 4.4

Face a difficult problem or fear directly and bravely

is used specifically for handling what scares you rather than other problems
to face head-on
vsto stare fear in the face
9 4.2

Deal with a problem directly instead of avoiding it

is narrower, used for handling what scares you rather than any problem
to look squarely at
vsto stare fear in the face
1 4.8

Face a person or problem directly without avoiding it

is used mainly for handling what scares you rather than general matters
to fly at something head-on
vsto stare fear in the face
7.0

To face a problem directly and try to solve it

is focused on handling what scares you calmly rather than forceful action
to face an issue
vsto stare fear in the face
3.3

To deal directly and openly with a problem

is applied especially to handling what scares you rather than other issues

Antonyms

to escape
∞ 1.0

To get away from a place where you are kept or are in danger

How Confronting

to stare fear in the face
  • Informal
1 7.0
to confront
359 4.4
to face
∞ 2.2
to acknowledge
367 3.8
to avoid
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

stare fear in the face infinitive
stared fear in the face past
stared fear in the face past participle
staring fear in the face present participle
stares fear in the face third person singular

Morphology

stare + fear + in + the + face

The meaning is largely inferable from the parts: 'stare' (look fixedly) combined with 'face' (to confront) and the locative 'in the face' signal a direct confrontation with fear, so a learner who knows the constituent words can plausibly guess the intended meaning. However, the construction is metaphorical and depends on idiomatic use of 'face'/'in the face', so it is not completely literal or fully predictable without some exposure.

Etymology

The idiom stare fear in the face may come from the image of treating fear like a person and using stare to look straight at its face. So it means 'to confront one's fears directly and without avoidance'.