Word.ws English Dictionary

set one's face against

set one's face against verb: to oppose strenuously; to determine not to do or accept.

Verb

set one's face against (third-person singular simple present sets one's face against, present participle setting one's face against, simple past and past participle set one's face against)

  1. (UK) To oppose strenuously; to determine not to do or accept.
    • As these gatherings generally ended in drunkenness and rough and dangerous fun, the ministers set their faces against the observance, and were seconded in their efforts by the more intelligent and well-behaved in the community.1911, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, volume 10, page 232

Forms of set one's face against

third-person singular presentsets one's face against
present participlesetting one's face against
past participleset one's face against
pastset one's face against

Questions about set one's face against

What does set one's face against mean?
Set one's face against means to oppose strenuously; to determine not to do or accept.
What part of speech is set one's face against?
Set one's face against is a verb.
What is the past tense of set one's face against?
The past tense of set one's face against is set one's face against.

Words near set one's face against in the dictionary

  1. set on a pedestal
  2. set on fire
  3. set on foot
  4. set one's affairs in order
  5. set one's cap at
  6. set one's face against
  7. set one's hair on fire
  8. set one's hand to
  9. set one's heart on
  10. set one's heart upon
  11. set one's house in order

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: set one's face against (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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