What does fazing mean?
"Fazing" is the present participle of the verb "faze," which means to disconcert, unsettle, or disturb someone's composure. When something is fazing you, it is throwing you off balance emotionally — rattling your confidence rather than merely annoying you. The word is used almost exclusively in negative constructions: a seasoned performer might be unfazed by hecklers, or a crisis might unfold without fazing the team handling it. This strong pull toward the negative has made the adjective "unfazed" far more common than the bare verb itself. Mildly informal in tone, "fazing" connotes resilience on the part of whoever resists it, which is precisely why it appears so often in descriptions of calm, unshakable people. It should not be confused with the homophone "phasing," which refers to moving through stages and shares no etymological connection.
verbFazing is the present participle of the verb "faze," meaning to disconcert, disturb, or cause someone to feel unsettled or unsure of themselves.
- To disconcert or unsettle someone; to disturb their composure.
"She stayed perfectly calm, the criticism not fazing her in the slightest."
"The hecklers kept shouting, but it wasn't fazing the speaker at all."
"He took the rejection in stride, nothing fazing his quiet confidence."
Despite sounding modern, "faze" traces back to an Old English verb meaning to drive away or frighten off — and it's almost always seen in the negative: people who are "not fazed."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of fazing
"Faze" descends from Middle English, ultimately traceable to an Old English verb meaning to drive out, expel, or frighten away. The word survived largely in dialect before re-emerging in standard English, where its sense narrowed from driving someone off to unsettling their composure. It is unrelated to the Greek-rooted "phase," despite their identical modern pronunciation.
Related word forms
How fazing is actually used
"Fazing" appears overwhelmingly in negative constructions — "not fazing," "without fazing" — and carries a mildly informal register. The derived adjective "unfazed" is far more common than any positive use of the verb.
Easily confused with fazing
"Phasing" means progressing through stages or phases, while "fazing" means disconcerting or unsettling someone; the two are homophones but entirely unrelated in meaning.