frontal

[fruhn-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

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of frontal¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of frontal¹

C14 (in the sense: adornment for forehead, altar cloth): via Old French frontel , from Latin frontālia (pl) ornament worn on forehead, frontellum altar cloth, both from frōns forehead, _front

Example Sentences

But there he is, looking on in a frontal mugshot pinned to the gallery wall.

From Los Angeles Times

In his case, the most damaged tissues are in his brain’s left frontal or left temporal lobes, which play crucial roles in processing and forming language.

From Los Angeles Times

His flaming-eyed face is frontal, hers is overlaid in perfect profile.

From Los Angeles Times

In another study, a research team found that parts of infants’ brains in charge of shifting attention in the frontal parietal cortex were activated in infants as young as three months old.

From Salon

That explains another frontal attack on Medicaid mounted by the GOP: the imposition of work requirements on Medicaid enrollees.

From Los Angeles Times