confrontational

Also con·fron·ta·tive

[kon-fruhn-tey-shuh-nl, -fruhn-]

adjective

1. tending toward or ready for confrontation.

   They came to the meeting with a confrontational attitude.

Other Word Forms

• nonconfrontational adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of confrontational¹

confrontation + -al ¹

Example Sentences

López Obrador, especially, vowed to break with the confrontational approaches of past Mexican administrations, whose military operations he said failed to weaken cartels and only fueled violence.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Another warned Newby that information about his confrontational behavior would be leaked to the newspapers if he didn’t stop.

Read more on Salon

He was a “good guy,” and “not confrontational” at all, she said.

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With the guidance of Sidney Hillman, an ally of President Roosevelt, the fund moved unions away from their confrontational past toward a model of “industrial democracy” that recognized the common interests of business and labor.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

For months in 2024 — shortly after the onset of the deadliest and most destructive war between Israelis and Palestinians in history — college campuses in the U.S. convulsed in often confrontational protests.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• adversarial 
• antagonistic 
• bellicose 
• combative