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

---

noun

1. a decorative hanging for the front of an altar

2. See frontal lobe frontal bone

3. another name for frontlet

Other Word Forms

• frontally adverb
• interfrontal adjective
• subfrontal adjective
• subfrontally adverb
• transfrontal adjective
• transfrontally adverb

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

"It then pulled away to the east, with a frontal system moving away southwards, opening the floodgates to a cold Arctic plunge of air."

From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026

Scroll through TikTok or Instagram and you will likely see the familiar line: “Your frontal lobe isn’t fully developed yet.”

From Science Daily • Feb. 19, 2026

Their drawings were strictly frontal elevations, an academic convention that made comparison—and judgment—easy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 18, 2026

This perspective often emphasizes the role of the frontal cortex.

From Science Daily • Feb. 4, 2026

Well, Longstreet thought, Lee wants a frontal assault.

From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara