confront

[kuhn-fruhnt]

verb (used with object)

1. to face in hostility or defiance; oppose.

   The feuding factions confronted one another.

2. to present for acknowledgment, contradiction, etc.; set face to face.

   They confronted him with evidence of his crime.

3. to face and deal with boldly or directly.

   The city refuses to confront the real reason for the housing shortage.

4. to stand or come in front of; stand or meet facing.

   The two long-separated brothers confronted each other speechlessly.

5. to be in one's way.

   the numerous obstacles that still confronted him.

6. to bring together for examination or comparison.

confront

/ kənˈfrʌnt /

verb

1. (usually foll by with) to present or face (with something), esp in order to accuse or criticize

2. to face boldly; oppose in hostility

3. to be face to face with; be in front of

4. to bring together for comparison

Other Word Forms

• confronter noun
• reconfront verb (used with object)
• unconfronted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of confront¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Medieval Latin confrontārī, equivalent to Latin con-, variant of intensive prefix com- + -frontārī, derivative of Latin frōns (stem front- ) “forehead”; con-, front

Word History and Origins

Origin of confront¹

C16: from Medieval Latin confrontārī to stand face to face with, from frons forehead

Example Sentences

Demonstrators confronted immigration-enforcement officers in New York City on Saturday, preventing masked federal agents from leaving a parking garage.

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Her assistant Esme confronts her about her conduct, using the information to blackmail her in an unexpected way.

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But Mr. Sullivan freshens the familiar with shrewd diversions and, above all, the phenomenon of a relentlessly logical investigator confronting a mystery rooted in love and loyalty.

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Europeans are now confronting deepening questions about the future of the alliance.

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"Either to terrify the residents and force them to move," he said, "or to put pressure on the Lebanese army to confront people."

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• accost 
• defy 
• encounter 
• meet 
• oppose 
• repel 
• resist