at face value

idiom

1

: for the price that is printed on something

We bought the tickets at face value.

2

: as true or genuine without being questioned or doubted

After all his lying, nothing he says now should be taken/accepted at face value.

Examples of at face value in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Second, though, is the degree to which the market handicappers are taking the consensus 13% S & P 500 profit growth largely at face value, not allowing for the common pattern of estimate erosion. —Michael Santoli, CNBC, 5 Jan. 2026

Second favourite is Gareth Southgate, who, at face value, seems like a good fit. —Peter South, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026

People living under these regimes, however, do not accept regime narratives at face value. —Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025

Too heightened to take at face value and too rote to add a lastingly visceral element to this most famous of myths, the scares grow tedious faster than a bad church sermon. —David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 13 Nov. 2025

Rhymes for at face value

• eigenvalue
• undervalue