janus-faced meaning and definition

JANUS-FACED adjective

Definition of Janus-faced (adjective)

1. having or concerned with polarities or contrasts
   • "a Janus-faced view of history"; "a Janus-faced policy"
2. marked by deliberate deceptiveness especially by pretending one set of feelings and acting under the influence of another
   • "she was a deceitful scheming little thing"- Israel Zangwill; "a double-dealing double agent"; "a double-faced infernal traitor and schemer"- W.M.Thackeray
   • synonyms: ambidextrous, deceitful, double-dealing, double-faced, double-tongued, duplicitous, two-faced
3. having two faces--one looking to the future and one to the past
   • "Janus the two-faced god"
   • synonyms: two-faced