What does barefaced mean?
Barefaced is an adjective describing behaviour that is shamelessly open and undisguised, particularly when that openness is impudent or audacious. A person telling a barefaced lie does so without any attempt to hide the falsehood or any visible embarrassment at being caught in it; barefaced cheek refers to insolence delivered without apology. The word carries a strongly negative connotation, implying not merely dishonesty or rudeness but a striking absence of shame. It appears most often in criticism of conduct: barefaced hypocrisy, barefaced ambition, barefaced theft. A literal, older sense — having a bare or uncovered face, as one without a mask or veil — survives only marginally today. The adjective is standard in both British and American English, though American writers sometimes use the near-identical term 'bald-faced' instead. Its vivid imagery makes it a memorable and forceful choice for condemning brazen behaviour.
Shameless and undisguised, especially in a bold or impudent way.
"She showed remarkable barefaced confidence when she denied ever receiving the email."
Nearly always used critically or disapprovingly.
(Literal, now rare) Having a bare or uncovered face; not masked or veiled.
"The portrait shows him barefaced, without the wig he wore in public."
This sense is largely historical.
A 'barefaced lie' has nothing to do with being caught red-handed — the phrase simply means you told it with your face fully uncovered by shame.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of barefaced
Barefaced is formed from the English words 'bare' and 'face', combining a native Germanic root with a straightforward descriptive compound. It emerged in English in the late sixteenth century, originally meaning literally having an uncovered face. By the early seventeenth century it had developed its dominant figurative sense of shameless or undisguised behaviour, which remains the standard meaning today. The related form 'bald-faced' arose later, chiefly in American English, as a parallel expression of the same idea.
Related word forms
How barefaced is actually used
Almost always pejorative. The figurative sense (shameless, undisguised) dominates modern usage; the literal sense of an uncovered face is largely historical. Commonly paired with 'lie', 'cheek', and 'hypocrisy'.
Easily confused with barefaced
'Bald-faced' is chiefly American and means essentially the same thing (shameless, undisguised), while 'barefaced' is the older and more common British form; both are correct but they are different words.