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frontal

American  
[fruhn-tl] / ˈfrʌn tl /

adjective

  1. of, in, or at the front.

    a frontal view; frontal attack.

  2. Anatomy.

    1. of, relating to, or situated near the forehead or the frontal bone.

    2. coronal.

  3. Meteorology. of or relating to the division between dissimilar air masses.

    frontal zone; frontal surface.

  4. Fine Arts.

    1. exhibiting frontality.

    2. parallel to the surface in the pictorial arts or seen from the front view in sculpture.

      the frontal plane.


noun

  1. Ecclesiastical. a movable cover or hanging for the front of an altar.

  2. frontlet.

  3. Anatomy. any of several parts in the frontal region, especially the frontal bone.

frontal British  
/ ˈfrʌntəl /

adjective

  1. of, at, or in the front

  2. of or relating to the forehead

    frontal artery

  3. of or relating to the anterior part of a body or organ

  4. meteorol of, relating to, or resulting from a front or its passage

    frontal rainfall

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a decorative hanging for the front of an altar

  2. See frontal lobe frontal bone

  3. another name for frontlet

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Etymology

Origin of frontal

1275–1325; < Late Latin frontālis ( New Latin, in anatomy sense); replacing Middle English frountel < Old French frontel. See front, -al 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The TBS late-night show “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” was canceled in 2022 following the merger of Warner Media and Discovery.

From MarketWatch • May 15, 2026

Again, from that perspective, the lengthy run for Bee's "Full Frontal" is impressive, even when accounting for the fact that her show was weekly.

From Salon • Jun. 9, 2023

Discovery abruptly canceled her TBS show "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee."

From Salon • Dec. 9, 2022

Frontal, waist-high, intently staring straight ahead, the artist holds a palette and paintbrushes at his chest as an emblem to signify his identity.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 22, 2022

Frontal headache and pains down nose recur at intervals.

From New, Old, and Forgotten Remedies: Papers by Many Writers by Anshutz, Edward Pollock

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