FACE-OFF Synonyms: 57 Similar and Opposite Words

face-off 1 of 2

noun

ˈfās-ˌȯf

Definition of face-off

as in rivalry

an earnest effort for superiority or victory over another the annual fall face-off between these traditional rivals is a big event for both football-mad colleges

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

face off

2 of 2

verb

as in to compete

to engage in a contest eager to face off with her longtime tennis rival

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of face-off

Noun

For national tournaments, the corollary is how poorer countries always have to match up against richer ones for regional face-offs and qualifiers that culminate in the quadrennial dream that is the World Cup. — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2026 In this unofficial but unavoidable national holiday face-off between two people who have been public in their dislike for each other, Swift gets to fire the first shot. — Martha Ross, Mercury News, 2 July 2026

Verb

The Buckeyes and Longhorns face off for the third straight season in a matchup of national title contenders. — Steve Megargee, Chicago Tribune, 11 Sep. 2026 Aryna Sabalenka vies for a three-peat with another women’s singles championship title, while Americans Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton face off in the semifinals of the final Grand Slam of the tennis season. — Julia Teti, Footwear News, 11 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for face-off

Recent Examples of Synonyms for face-off

Noun

With the league’s expansion to Denver, Columbus, and possibly Cincinnati, such regional rivalries should only expand.

— PJ Green September 17, Kansas City Star, 17 Sep. 2026
College football has gone national, abandoning regional affinities and local rivalries.

— Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of rivalry

Verb

For most of modern business history, organizations competed on information.

— Nick Leighton, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026
This year’s Emmy Awards ceremony will see actors, directors, writers and more from drama shows like The Pitt and Pluribus as well as comedies like Widow’s Bay and Hacks compete for trophies.

— Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of compete

Noun

Don’t shrink to avoid disagreement, but don’t make everything a battle for control either.

— Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 7 Sep. 2026
Mustafa, who was born in Iraqi Kurdistan and fled to Norway as a child, said the film was inspired by his encounter with a female Peshmerga sniper during the 2014 frontline battles, as female Kurdish fighters countered Islamic State attacks.

— Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of battle

Verb

Ahead of the legal arguments, most experts contend that Missouri likely will not use the gerrymandered map in November and instead conduct the election using a map lawmakers passed in 2022.

— Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 16 Sep. 2026
Penn State regularly contended for New Year’s Six bowls but lost the close, important games so often that fans braced for heartbreak.

— The Athletic College Football Staff, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of contend

Noun

The new poll from Focaldata/Financial Times, released over Labor Day weekend, shows former Vice President Kamala Harris and current Vice President JD Vance heading for a potential duel in 2028 for the White House.

— Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2026
Harry Coyle, an NBC Sports staff director, cemented his place in sports history with his brainstorm in 1955 that a camera placed just right in center field would better capture a 360-view of the duel between the batter and the pitcher.

— Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of duel

Verb

Tech companies are racing to develop and train elder care robots to handle tasks ranging from giving massages to playing chess.

— HUIYEE CHIEW AND LYRIC LI THE WASHINGTON POST, Arkansas Online, 16 Sep. 2026
As the rapid development of artificial intelligence sparks renewed debate about its risks, the United States and China keep racing to build increasingly powerful models.

— Chan Ho-Him, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of race

Noun

Their concern goes beyond competition over who solves a problem first.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 12 Sep. 2026
As using live musicians becomes increasingly less common, the dance competition is a bright spot, which one of the largest, if not the largest, live bands on screen today.

— Kristin Robinson, Billboard, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of competition

Noun

But this sleekly miserable noir about the aftermath of a feckless man’s confrontation with his wife’s younger lover transports the stuff of archetype into Putin’s Russia.

— Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 14 Sep. 2026
The viewer could enjoy the confrontation with the reassuring sense that watching served some larger good.

— Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of confrontation

Browse Nearby Words

facelift

face-off

face off

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Style

“Face-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/face-off. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of face-off

noun

verb

Example Sentences

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