Link Centre Dictionary

barefaced

ba·re·fa·ced

UK/ˈbeə(ɹ)feɪst/ uncommon

adjective

1.

with no effort to conceal

  • “a barefaced lie”
Synonyms
Similar
2.

unrestrained by convention or propriety

  • “an audacious trick to pull”
  • “a barefaced hypocrite”
  • “the most bodacious display of tourism this side of Anaheim” Los Angeles Times
  • “bald-faced lies”
  • “brazen arrogance”
  • “the modern world with its quick material successes and insolent belief in the boundless possibilities of progress” Bertrand Russell

Origin

Perhaps an alteration of barefast (compare shamefast); or from bare + faced. Compare typologically cheeky; Italian sfacciato (< Latin ex- + faciēs); French effronté, Italian sfrontato (< Latin ex- + frōns), Polish czelny (< czoło).

Phrases

  • barefaced liar
  • barefaced lie

Related words

Word family

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.