faze
C1Informal, slightly literary.
Definition
Meaning
To disturb, unsettle, or disconcert someone; to cause them to feel uneasy or lose composure.
To disrupt someone's emotional state or confidence, often in the face of pressure, surprise, or adversity.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Almost exclusively used in negative constructions or questions (e.g., 'not fazed by,' 'nothing fazes him'). Conveys a sense of psychological or emotional impact rather than physical. Often describes resilience.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
The word is used in both varieties with identical meaning and typical usage patterns. No significant dialectal difference in use.
Connotations
Slightly informal in both, with perhaps a marginally more literary or journalistic flavour in UK English. In AmE, common in colloquial speech.
Frequency
More frequent in American English according to corpora, but well-established and understood in British English.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[Subject: event/person] faze [Object: person][Person] be fazed by [event][Person] remain unfazedVocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “(come) hell or high water (nothing fazes someone who perseveres thus)”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Used to describe resilience under pressure, e.g., 'The CEO was unfazed by the market volatility.'
Academic
Rare in formal academic prose; appears more in social sciences or psychology discussing emotional response.
Everyday
Common in spoken language to describe not being bothered, e.g., 'The noisy kids didn't faze her.'
Technical
Not typical in technical contexts.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The referee's controversial decision didn't faze the seasoned players.
- She wasn't fazed in the slightest by the heckling from the crowd.
American English
- No deadline seems to faze her; she just gets the work done.
- He didn't let the complex instructions faze him and figured it out.
adverb
British English
- (Note: 'fazedly' is extremely rare and non-standard. Use 'in an unfazed manner' or similar.)
American English
- (Note: 'fazedly' is extremely rare and non-standard. Use 'in an unfazed manner' or similar.)
adjective
British English
- The unfazed commentator continued despite the technical glitch.
- He remained remarkably fazed by the whole ordeal, which worried us.
American English
- She gave an unfazed shrug and walked away.
- Looking slightly fazed, he stumbled over his words.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- Loud noises do not faze my dog; he sleeps through storms.
- She was not fazed by the big test.
- Even the most aggressive questioning from the panel didn't faze the confident scientist.
- Very little fazes him after years of working in emergency medicine.
- The seasoned diplomat was utterly unfazed by the sudden shift in the negotiation's tone.
- Her sangfroid is legendary; I've never seen her fazed by any crisis.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine a dense, confusing MAZE. If something 'FAZEs' you, it puts you in a mental maze where you feel lost and unsettled.
Conceptual Metaphor
EMOTIONAL IMPACT IS PHYSICAL DISPLACEMENT/SHAKING (e.g., 'shook,' 'rattled' – 'faze' fits this metaphor family).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid confusing with 'фаза' (phase). Also, do not translate as 'пугать' (to scare) – 'faze' is milder, about unsettling, not frightening.
Common Mistakes
- Confusing spelling with 'phase' (a stage). Using it in a positive context (e.g., 'The good news fazed her' – incorrect). Overusing in formal writing.
Practice
Quiz
Which sentence uses 'faze' correctly?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No. They are different words. 'Phase' is a noun (a stage) or verb (to carry out in stages). 'Faze' is a verb meaning to disturb or disconcert.
Almost never. It inherently describes a negative or unsettling effect. It is nearly always used in negative contexts ('not fazed', 'unfazed', 'nothing fazes').
'Faze' means to unsettle. 'Phase' as a verb means to plan or carry out something in gradual stages (e.g., 'phase in', 'phase out'). They are not interchangeable.
Yes, by a significant margin. The positive construction ('something fazes someone') is less frequent than the negative ('someone is unfazed by something' or 'something doesn't faze someone').