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face the truth — accept reality

collocationB2IELTS 5.5+neutralcommon

to accept or deal with a difficult or unpleasant fact, even if you don't want to.

Say it like a native

Textbook She must come to terms with the unpleasant facts of the matter.

Native She has to face the truth.

'Face the truth' is the plain phrase; the formal version is therapy-report language.

Pattern: face the truth (about something)

In use

  • Sometimes it's hard to face the truth about your own mistakes.daily life
  • In my opinion, people should face the truth about climate change, even if it's uncomfortable, because only then can we make real progress.IELTS speaking

Common mistake

✗ It's hard to face with the truth.

✓ It's hard to face the truth.

'Face' takes 'the truth' directly — no 'with'.

Common collocations

  • face the truth — face the truth, about, sooner or later, honestly

Don't confuse it

Different from 'ignore the truth,' which means to avoid accepting reality.

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