lowering one's guard
Dropping protective barriers
Lowering one's guard is relaxing one's defenses or vigilance, becoming vulnerable to attack or deception.
From boxing, where dropping your hands exposes you to a punch: She finally lowered her guard and told him the truth.
The opposite of keeping one's guard up.
- disarmingAllaying suspicion through warmth
- complacencyUncritical satisfaction with oneself
- blind spotArea of blocked perception
- trustConfidence in another
- benefit of the doubtFavorable judgment amid uncertainty
open book · vulnerability · intimacy · reliance · honesty · exposure · forgiveness · risk-taking · conceding · softening · transparency · heart to heart · empathy · yielding · rapport · inattentiveness · sitting duck · overconfidence
vigilance/alertness
lowering one's guardstaying alert
keeping watch · keeping one's eyes open · being on the lookout · battening down the hatches · circling the wagons
lower, lowering, lowers, lowered, lowest, lowness, guard, guards, guarded