Lose Face Meaning

(idiomatic) To lose the respect of others; to be humiliated or experience public disgrace.

Example: 1986, John Shelby Spong, Beyond Moralism: A Contemporary View of the Ten Commandments, HarperCollins (2000), ISBN 9781878282149, unnumbered page:
  Ahithophel, Absalom's chief counsel, hanged himself when he lost face after his advice was rejected.
2011, Mel Robbins, Stop Saying You're Fine: Discover a More Powerful You, Crown Archetype (2011), ISBN 9780307716729, page 221:
  When you start to feel unmotivated, you will look for ways to weasel out of your commitments. We all do it. If there's a stealth way to back out, without ever losing face, you will do it without hesitation.
2012, Sharon Pincott, Battle for the President's Elephants: Life, Lunacy and Elation in the African Bush, Jacana Media (2012), ISBN 9781431403592, page 97:
  He had arranged for one of his managers to be present in the office with us, so I should have realised immediately that there was little chance of him backing down since that would have meant losing face in front of a subordinate.