Lexic.us

Definition of Janus-faced

1. Adjective. Having or concerned with polarities or contrasts. "A Janus-faced policy"

2. Adjective. Marked by deliberate deceptiveness especially by pretending one set of feelings and acting under the influence of another. "A double-faced infernal traitor and schemer"

3. Adjective. Having two faces--one looking to the future and one to the past. "Janus the two-faced god"

Lexicographical Neighbors of Janus-faced

Jansenist Jansenists Jansky-Bielschowsky disease Janson Januaries January January 0 January 1 January 19 January 20

January 6 Januarye Januarys Janus Janus-faced Janus cloth Janus green B Janus particle Janus particles Jap

Japan Japan Socialist Party Japan Standard Time Japan Trench Japan allspice Japan bittersweet Japan cedar Japan current

Literary usage of Janus-faced

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Pittsburgh Reports by Boyd Crumrine (1872)
"That he never thought of a Janus faced lock and never manufactured one, but had different patterns for right and left hand locks. ..."

2. Cases Argued and Adjudged in the Supreme Court of the United States by John William Wallace, United States Supreme Court (1903)
"The name ' janus-faced" locks was given to this machine to distinguish it from others which had not its peculiar qualities. "Now, it is evident, ..."

3. Some Aspects of Banking Theory by William Howard Steiner (1920)
"Moreover, the institution itself has become janus-faced; in performing the one ... Suffice it to note at this point that the janus-faced character is due in ..."

Other Resources: