face turn
/feɪs tɜːrn/
CommonWhen someone who was disliked or seen as a villain shifts and becomes respected or beloved.
Can be sincere (genuine change earns new respect) or ironic (someone does one good thing and suddenly everyone loves them). Context determines which reading fits.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | he was the most hated guy in the game and then donated 500k to the wildfire fund. face turn. | A single significant act shifted public opinion completely. | x, 2024 |
| 02 | this character was annoying for 4 seasons. season 5 face turn. now she is literally my favorite. | The character's arc shifted from irritating to beloved. | reddit, 2023 |
| 03 | my whole friend group used to hate him and now he's the glue of every hangout. face turn of the century. | Someone who was initially unwelcome became the most valued member. | x, 2024 |
| 04 | called her a villain last month. she went and helped everyone move apartments last weekend. face turn accepted. | The action was enough to revise a previous negative judgment. | tiktok, 2024 |
Use it when
- A formerly disliked public figure does something that wins people over.
- Someone who was the villain in a situation becomes likable or admirable.
- A character arc in fiction shifts from antagonist to hero.
- Online discourse shifts in someone's favor after new context.
Do not use it when
- The person was always liked, there was no antagonist phase to turn from.
- The change is minor and does not shift public opinion meaningfully.
Face turn vs heel turn
face turn
A face turn is going from villain or disliked to hero or fan favorite.
VS
heel-turn
A heel turn is going from liked to antagonistic.
Origin and context
Comes directly from professional wrestling terminology, where a "face" (short for babyface) is the hero character. A face turn is when the villain character switches alignment. Internet culture adopted the term to describe real public opinion shifts.
- First seen
- pre-internet
- Confidence
- high
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/face-turnUpdated: 2026-08-29License: CC BY 4.0