What this suffix does
-faced forms compound adjectives describing someone's attitude or expression: two-faced (hypocritical), straight-faced (keeping a serious expression, not laughing), barefaced (shameless, with no attempt to hide it).
ESEN
Suffix · forms adjectives
-faced
Describes someone's attitude or expression, literal or moral: two-faced (fake, hypocritical) and straight-faced (keeping a serious expression).
Intermediate
Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated
It is almost always about character, not the physical face
"two-faced" does not mean having two physical faces, it means being hypocritical: telling one thing to someone and something different to someone else. "barefaced" is not about not having a beard, it means acting with total shamelessness.
How it is formed
Adjective + faced.
- two + facedtwo-faced (fake, hypocritical)
- straight + facedstraight-faced (keeping a serious expression)
- bare + facedbarefaced (shameless, blatant)
This is not a productive rule you can apply freely: it is a closed set of fixed expressions. Learn them one by one as set phrases.
How it is pronounced
-faced
Tap the button to hear how the ending sounds. Each word in the table has its own audio.
Examples
Base word
With -faced
In a phrase
- twotwo-facedI don't trust him, he's so two-faced.
- barebarefacedThat was a barefaced lie, and everyone knew it.
- straightstraight-facedShe told the joke completely straight-faced.
- hardhard-facedThe hard-faced manager never smiled at anyone.
- boldbold-facedHe told a bold-faced lie right to my face.
Common mistakes
two-faced = having two physical faces
two-faced = hypocritical; presenting different faces to different people
"Two-faced" is always figurative and always negative. It describes someone who says one thing to one person and another to someone else — who presents a different face depending on who is watching. It implies conscious, sustained hypocrisy rather than momentary inconsistency. It is one of the strongest terms of social criticism in everyday English.
barefaced = having an uncovered face
barefaced = shameless and open; done without any attempt at concealment or excuse
"Barefaced" in the sense of shameless derives from the historical convention that a covered face (a veil, a mask, a beard) provided a kind of concealment or modesty. To be "barefaced" is to stand fully exposed and to feel no shame about it. A "barefaced lie" is not just a lie but a lie told with open defiance — without even the pretence of trying to make it plausible.
A trick to remember it
"Faced" = faced, literal. two-FACED = picture a literal mask with two different faces, one for each person. straight-FACED = a face with no smile curve at all, completely flat and serious.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Form the word
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
"straight-faced" means...
Frequently asked questions
What does the suffix -faced mean in English?
The suffix -faced describes someone's attitude or expression, literal or moral: two-faced (fake, hypocritical) and straight-faced (keeping a serious expression).
Can you give an example of a word with -faced?
"two" becomes "two-faced". It is a typical example of the -faced suffix.
Other useful suffixes
-eyed
Describes what someone's eyes are like, or how they see the world: wide-eyed (eyes wide open, naive) and eagle-eyed (sharp-sighted, observant).
-headed
having a specified type of mental clarity, character, or state of mind
-tongued
Describes how someone talks: silver-tongued (persuasive, eloquent) and sharp-tongued (cutting, harsh in speech).
Learn every English suffix
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