Synonyms of face-to-face

face-to-face

adverb

ˈfās-tə-ˈfās 

1

as in personally

in person and usually privately

I won't believe that accusation until I meet with him face-to-face and ask him myself

Synonyms & Similar Words

• personally
• in secret
• tête-à-tête
• in private
• immediately
• intimately
• secretly
• confidentially
• familiarly
• directly

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• indirectly
• publicly
• openly
• distantly

2

as in one-on-one

in direct confrontation or competition

came face-to-face with her lifelong fear of flying even before the plane left the runway

Synonyms & Similar Words

• one-on-one
• head-to-head
• head-on
• toe-to-toe
• eyeball-to-eyeball
• mano a mano

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of face-to-face

The two sides have been exchanging messages via intermediaries in third-party countries including Pakistan, but no face-to-face talks have been arranged. —Jay Ganglani, NBC news, 1 Apr. 2026

The run-in, which escalated into a scuffle, resulted in criminal charges against Phillips and raised questions about the mayor’s safety protocols and signature face-to-face encounters with community members on the streets. —David Hernandez, San Francisco Chronicle, 1 Apr. 2026

As well as more screening and mandatory training, Adam’s parents want the FA to make its SCA course a face-to-face exercise again, rather than keeping it as an online module — a switch that occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic and never went back to its original format. —Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 31 Mar. 2026

In the aftermath of Braylon Mullins’ game-winning shot against Duke to send UConn into the Final Four for the third time in four years, Huskies coach Dan Hurley’s celebrated with his coaches and players and then seemed to have a face-to-face moment with an official. —From Staff Reports, Hartford Courant, 30 Mar. 2026