How to Use on the face of it in a Sentence

on the face of it

idiom

• Yet on the face of it the delegates do not have much of a choice.
  — The Economist, 16 Jan. 2021
• This may not sound like much on the face of it, but keep in mind the billions of years the universe has been churning.
  — Korey Haynes, Discover Magazine, 19 Oct. 2018
• While on the face of it this is good news, the drop was boosted by bank servicers buying out loans.
  — Christopher Maloney, Bloomberg.com, 7 Oct. 2020
• But the point is, this is something that’s, on the face of it — this is not a problem in set theory.
  — Steven Strogatz, Quanta Magazine, 19 Apr. 2023
• Being hauled before Congress is, on the face of it, a sign of success.
  — The Economist, 30 July 2020
• What possible connection can there be on the face of it?
  — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 12 Mar. 2021
• This does not seem to be totally implausible on the face of it.
  — Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 29 Oct. 2011
• However, at least on the face of it, there is an ethical issue here.
  — Neuroskeptic, Discover Magazine, 27 Sep. 2015
• Jeff Light: If 1,000 people appeared, that would be a pretty good argument for its front-page placement on the face of it.
  — San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Jan. 2023
• So on the face of it, President Biden is indeed swapping principle for oil.
  — Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 July 2022
• Sure, on the face of it, a game centered around cleaning up gunk might not sound like an interesting diversion.
  — Washington Post, 17 Dec. 2021
• The Tokyo Olympics officially kicked off this weekend, and on the face of it, the ratings for Friday’s opening ceremony looked like a flop.
  — Frank Pallotta, CNN, 26 July 2021
• Perhaps fittingly for a man who has achieved mythic status in his sport, his downfall stemmed from what, on the face of it, sounded like a trivial issue.
  — Martin Fritz Huber, Outside Online, 5 Oct. 2020
• Beating Kansas State wasn’t really all that improbable on the face of it.
  — Dallas News, 3 Dec. 2022
• But on the face of it, Croatia’s victory against the five-time world champions could rank among a host of upsets already produced by a tournament that is refusing to stick to the script.
  — James Robson, ajc, 10 Dec. 2022
• Its supporters argue that India generates so much revenue that they are entitled to the majority of it - and that is understandable on the face of it - but at what cost?
  — Tristan Lavalette, Forbes, 26 Oct. 2021
• This week’s inflation figures marked the denouement of yet another shift in the market narrative, and what on the face of it was a wild overreaction to some good inflation figures.
  — James MacKintosh, WSJ, 17 Nov. 2023
• On Tuesday, Apple did a masterful job at its big reveal event of hyping its lineup of four new iPhones that, on the face of it, will have faster processors, improved camera features and connect to the new 5G wireless standard.
  — Jefferson Graham, USA TODAY, 14 Oct. 2020
• The company is unbundling Teams from its productivity suites, which on the face of it should settle a European Commission investigation launched a month ago, following a complaint from Slack.
  — David Meyer, Fortune, 31 Aug. 2023
• China’s balloon surveillance program, although primitive on the face of it, almost certainly relied on velocity gates to literally remain off-radar.
  — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 15 Feb. 2023

Last Updated: 16 Aug 2024