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in your face

[ in yoor feys ]

idiom

, Informal.
  1. Also in-your-face.
    1. seeming to express or invite confrontation; defiant, militant, or provocative:

      His political commentary is always in your face.

      Something drives him to break every rule, and to do it with a deep-down, in-your-face belligerence.

    2. displayed or advertised flagrantly, obtrusively, or forcefully:

      Everywhere you go, alcohol is in your face.

    3. (of a color, flavor, or the like) strong or vivid; bold rather than subtle:

      The brew has a huge, in-your-face hop flavor, but very little bitterness.

  2. in a provocative, flagrant, or bold way:

    They’re so brazen—they do their cheating in your face, daring you to do something about it.

  3. (used as an exclamation to tease someone or flaunt something in a confrontational way):

    In your face, Cougars—we won!



in-your-face

adjective

  1. slang.
    aggressive and confrontational

    provocative in-your-face activism

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of in your face1

First recorded in 1985–90
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Idioms and Phrases

Defiantly confrontational; also, an exclamation of contempt. For example, This show is not suitable for youngsters; its attitude about sex is in your face , or In your face, mister! This slangy expression originated in the 1970s in basketball as a phrase of contempt used against the opposing team and was extended to other areas by the mid-1980s.
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Example Sentences

He was like my old man with that angry, in-your-face rhetoric.

He continues that "the gays I know are not the flamboyant shove-it-in-your face type of people."

There were also Juicy Couture-style tracksuits in a spectrum of pinks, as well as in-your-face silver leggings.

Well, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says what he thinks and is forceful, in-your-face, and up front with folks.

Greaves and a handful of friends founded it in January as a vehicle for a cheeky, in-your-face brand of political theater.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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