on the face of it
idiom
: from only what is known at first
On the face of it, her proposal seems ridiculous—maybe it will sound better when we learn more about it.
Examples of on the face of it in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This Saturday’s slate of Premier League fixtures does not, on the face of it, bear the same hallmarks.
—
Jack Lang, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2026
The World Bank’s global economic forecast for the year ahead was, on the face of it, full of good news for African countries.
—Alexis Akwagyiram, semafor.com, 14 Jan. 2026
Still, since these LLMs continue to ace exams and dominate humans in coding competitions, their underperformance here is, on the face of it, puzzling.
—Tharin Pillay, Time, 13 Jan. 2026
That's dovish on the face of it and positive for equities.
—Sarah Min, CNBC, 10 Dec. 2025
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Jack Lang, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2026
The World Bank’s global economic forecast for the year ahead was, on the face of it, full of good news for African countries.
—Alexis Akwagyiram, semafor.com, 14 Jan. 2026
Still, since these LLMs continue to ace exams and dominate humans in coding competitions, their underperformance here is, on the face of it, puzzling.
—Tharin Pillay, Time, 13 Jan. 2026
That's dovish on the face of it and positive for equities.
—Sarah Min, CNBC, 10 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for on the face of it
Cite this Entry
“On the face of it.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/on%20the%20face%20of%20it. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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