“faze” vs. “phase”
Use "faze" (verb) to mean disturb or unsettle, almost always in a negative construction; use "phase" (usually a noun) for a stage or period in a process of change.
faze
"Faze" is a verb meaning to disturb, disconcert, or unsettle someone, almost always used in the negative ("nothing seems to faze her"). It's a distinctly American colloquial coinage from the early 19th century, likely a variant spelling of the older dialectal word "feeze" (to frighten or drive off), and it has stayed relatively informal and narrow in use ever since, appearing almost exclusively in this one "unbothered/unfazed" sense.
phase
"Phase" is most commonly a noun meaning a distinct stage or period in a process of change or development (a phase of the moon, a difficult phase of childhood), and as a verb, to carry something out in planned stages ("the rollout will be phased over six months"). "Phase" comes from Greek "phasis" (appearance, especially of a star or the moon), via French, originally describing the changing appearance of the moon through its cycle before broadening to describe any stage of change in a broader process.
The real distinction
The two sound identical but play completely unrelated grammatical roles, which is really the whole story here — no genuine overlap in meaning, just an identical sound: "faze" is a verb meaning to unsettle or bother someone, almost always in a negative construction ("unfazed," "nothing fazes him"), while "phase" is usually a noun describing a stage of a process, or occasionally a verb meaning to implement something gradually. Because "faze" is a comparatively rare, narrow word used in only one real sense, while "phase" is common and covers several senses (lunar phases, developmental phases, phased rollouts), writers unfamiliar with "faze" very often default to the more familiar "phase" even in sentences that clearly need the "unsettle" meaning, producing the common error "nothing phases her" where "faze" is actually required. A dependable test: if the sentence is about something bothering or unsettling someone, and you could substitute "disturb" or "rattle," you need "faze"; if it's about a stage, period, or step in a process, you need "phase." Because "faze" essentially only exists in this one negative-construction sense, some style guides even suggest that if you're unsure which word you need, the sentence is very likely calling for "faze" rather than "phase," since genuine uses of "faze" in any other grammatical role are exceedingly rare. Some style guides even flag "faze" as informal enough to avoid in the most formal registers of writing, suggesting "unsettle" or "rattle" instead, while "phase" carries no such informal flag and appears comfortably in technical, scientific, and business writing alike. Astronomy offers the clearest illustration of "phase" in its original literal sense — the phases of Venus, the phases of the moon — a usage directly descended from the Greek word for a star's or moon's changing appearance, centuries before the word ever broadened to cover stages of a project or a person's development.
Examples with “faze”
- The heckling didn't faze the seasoned comedian at all.
- Nothing seems to faze her before a big presentation.
- The sudden change in plans barely fazed the team.
- He wasn't fazed by the criticism in the least.
- The dog wasn't fazed by the fireworks overhead.
- Losing the first round didn't faze the champion.
- The unexpected question didn't faze the candidate.
- Bad weather rarely fazes experienced hikers.
Examples with “phase”
- The moon entered its waning phase overnight.
- Toddlers often go through a picky-eating phase.
- The company plans to phase out the old software by spring.
- Construction will proceed in three separate phases.
- The project's final phase begins next month.
- She's finally moved past that awkward teenage phase.
- The rollout will be phased across different regions.
- The rocket's second phase of ignition fired on schedule.
Memory trick
"Faze" is almost always paired with "nothing" or "un-" — nothing fazes them, unfazed by the news — a narrow, single job. "Phase" connects to the moon's phases, waxing and waning through distinct stages, the far more common and flexible of the two words.