face up to — accept and deal with (something difficult or unpleasant)
phrasal verbB2IELTS 6+neutraloccasional
To accept and deal with a difficult or unpleasant situation, instead of ignoring or avoiding it.
Say it like a native
Textbook She must acknowledge and confront her financial difficulties.
Native She needs to face up to her debts.
'Acknowledge and confront' is wordy; 'face up to' carries 'stop avoiding it' in one phrase.
Pattern: face up to + noun/pronoun
In use
- It's time to face up to the fact that we need to make some changes.daily life
- In my opinion, people should face up to their mistakes instead of blaming others, because that's how we learn and improve.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ He must face up his mistakes.
✓ He must face up to his mistakes.
Always 'face up TO'.
Common collocations
face up to— reality, your responsibilities, the truth, facts
Don't confuse it
Not the same as 'face', which can just mean to confront something. 'Face up to' emphasizes accepting and dealing with it, not just meeting it.