How to Use a slap in the face in a Sentence

a slap in the face

noun phrase
  • So some aid groups are saying, well, this is a slap in the face.
    — Abc News, ABC News, 28 May 2024
  • The problem is, this was a slap in the face of survivors.
    — CBS News, 21 Dec. 2025
  • Now to have this uranium transport is a slap in the face.
    — Arlyssa D. Becenti, AZCentral.com, 11 Nov. 2025
  • What a slap in the face to the leaders who led this country to greatness.
    — Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 10 Aug. 2024
  • For him to now be followed by his undistinguished son is a slap in the face.
    — Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 9 Mar. 2026
  • We were brought up to respect our family, and this is a slap in the face.
    — Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 27 Oct. 2025
  • Anything else is a slap in the face to those who waited and followed the rules.
    — Bobby Zirkin, Baltimore Sun, 1 Jan. 2026
  • That’s a slap in the face for every lawyer trying to use their power for good.
    — Patrick Wallis, Baltimore Sun, 24 May 2024
  • This movie is a slap in the face to our law enforcement personnel.
    — Larry Seward, CBS News, 23 Jan. 2026
  • This ad is a lie that serves as a slap in the face of all hardworking female athletes.
    — Jackson Thompson, Fox News, 10 Feb. 2025
  • But the very ontology of your album is a slap in the face to the two-minute pop song.
    — Ernesto Lechner, Rolling Stone, 10 May 2025
  • Being betrayed by a boy is a slap in the face; being betrayed by your hero is a true gut punch.
    — Zach Schiffman, Vulture, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Using the formal language of propriety to mask a slap in the face.
    — Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025
  • As a Black athlete, his success was a slap in the face to Hitler’s racist policies.
    — The Arizona Republic, 4 Aug. 2024
  • The fact that the NFL is allowing this to go on is a slap in the face to its fans.
    — Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
  • Seeing that the group receives such a low level of investment already, the suit was a slap in the face for many.
    — Jasmine Browley, Essence, 26 Sep. 2023
  • As a driver in Delhi put it to me, the wedding felt like a slap in the face to India’s poor.
    — Amitava Kumar, The New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2025
  • What a slap in the face to the victims of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
    — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 23 Feb. 2026
  • Gibbs said the tariff aid Trump has promised to farmers is a slap in the face to all farmers and Americans.
    — Lori Ann Larocco, CNBC, 11 Feb. 2026
  • To people who must still take precautions for health reasons, the fact that signs are still up, only to be ignored, can feel like a slap in the face.
    — Yasmin Tayag, The Atlantic, 29 Feb. 2024
  • Why travelers with disabilities say the public emergency's end feels like a slap in the face.
    — Laura L. Davis, USA TODAY, 11 May 2023
  • Landry said early release, which until now has been typically assumed when judges hand down sentences, is a slap in the face to crime victims.
    — Richard A. Webster, ProPublica, 10 Apr. 2025
  • Having Woody return without a clear purpose seems like a slap in the face to Toy Story 4.
    — Laura Sirikul, Forbes.com, 20 June 2026
  • To build high-rises in that foot print would be a slap in the face of those that have invested their dollars both commercial and residential for the view.
    — Baltimore Sun Media, Baltimore Sun, 11 Apr. 2024
  • This is embarrassing and a slap in the face to our nation's talented educators.
    — Matt Robison, Newsweek, 20 Nov. 2024
  • In addition, the limited refund window seems like a slap in the face to people who were willing to spend extra money to be early adopters.
    — Ars Technica, 19 Feb. 2025
  • Not only does Hegseth lack the experience to fulfill this role but confirming him would be a slap in the face to those who are serving and have served with honor.
    — Dan Perry, Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2024
  • But since the market is so unregulated, a bad set can feel not only dangerous but a slap in the face, given female actors’ lower pay.
    — Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 3 Nov. 2025
  • At this point, keeping him in the house would be a slap in the face to every person who has stood up for or tried to change the racist allegations that the show has experienced in the past.
    — Stephanie Wenger, Peoplemag, 11 Aug. 2023
  • This halftime show is a slap in the face of every single Christian and Trump supporter across America.
    — Marni Rose McFall, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Mar. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'a slap in the face.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: