Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

keep up appearances

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.08 in modern English

Syllables: keep- up ap-pear-ances
IPA

31

Scrabble Score

17

Letters

4

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To artificially maintain an outward sign of normality; to maintain an appearance of wealth, comfort, or propriety.

Example Sentences

"For my father's sake, I thought I must keep up appearances, but the food stuck in my throat, and I could not swallow another mouthful."
"With tact and management it would be possible to partially satisfy creditors, and keep up appearances for six months more."

Inflected Forms

keeps up appearances (present, singular) keeping up appearances (participle, present) kept up appearances (participle, past) kept up appearances (past)

Phrases

save face

Frequently Paired Words

save face

Synonyms

maintain appearances save appearances

Questions

What does keep up appearances mean?: To artificially maintain an outward sign of normality; to maintain an appearance of wealth, comfort, or propriety.

How to pronounce keep up appearances

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “keep up appearances”.
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