face up to

verb

1. intr, adverb+preposition to accept (an unpleasant fact, reality, etc)

Idioms and Phrases

Also, face it . Confront or accept an unpleasant or difficult situation. For example, Jane had to face up to the possibility of being fired , or Face it—you were wrong . [Late 1700s] Also see face the music .

Example Sentences

More than 160 people have been arrested and charged with misdemeanors since the ordinance took effect in September, and could face up to a year in jail or a $1,000 fine if they turn down shelter or treatment.

From Los Angeles Times

Coltart feels it is not just the Church that is to blame, and suggests other institutions in the UK need to face up to their failure to warn people in Zimbabwe.

From BBC

Brett Hankison, 47, could face up to life in prison after being convicted of using excessive force against the 26-year-old emergency room technician.

From BBC

No state has done more to fight this interpretation than Texas, which has warned doctors that its abortion ban supersedes the administration’s guidance on federal law, and that they can face up to 99 years in prison for violating it.

From Salon

Cyclists using a mobile phone while riding in Japan could face up to six months jail under strict new rules introduced Friday.

From BBC

Related Words

• accost
• defy
• encounter
• meet
• oppose
• repel
• resist