confront
Americanverb (used with object)
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confronts,
present (3rd person singular)
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confronted,
past participle, past
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confronting
present participle
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to face in hostility or defiance; oppose.
The feuding factions confronted one another.
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to present for acknowledgment, contradiction, etc.; set face to face.
They confronted him with evidence of his crime.
-
to face and deal with boldly or directly.
The city refuses to confront the real reason for the housing shortage.
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to stand or come in front of; stand or meet facing.
The two long-separated brothers confronted each other speechlessly.
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to be in one's way.
the numerous obstacles that still confronted him.
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to bring together for examination or comparison.
verb
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(usually foll by with) to present or face (with something), esp in order to accuse or criticize
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to face boldly; oppose in hostility
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to be face to face with; be in front of
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to bring together for comparison
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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confrontsimple
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confrontssimple
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have confrontedperfect
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has confrontedperfect
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am confrontingprogressive
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are confrontingprogressive
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is confrontingprogressive
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have been confrontingperfect progressive
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has been confrontingperfect progressive
Past
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confrontedsimple
-
had confrontedperfect
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was confrontingprogressive
-
were confrontingprogressive
-
had been confrontingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of confront
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”; see origin at con-, front
Explanation
Confront means either to face a situation that makes you uncomfortable, or to say something to someone about something they've done that bothers you. Rather than letting things go, when people are rude to you you should confront them. Confront derives from the Latin con- "with" and -front "front." You can confront a sad truth, you can confront a person by calling them on their behavior, you can confront someone with the fact that they have terrible breath. You can be confronted, too—on the trip through the mountains, we were confronted by the impassibility of the road.
Vocabulary lists containing confront
The Bill of Rights
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"Everyday Use" by Alice Walker
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Twelve Days in May
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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.
See Examples For:
Watching Tony find companionship forced me to confront my own loneliness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
Vote Safe organizers stress that their own volunteers will be unarmed and nonpartisan, and say their purpose is not to confront officials but to provide a familiar presence and record what happens.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
The Corner Man follows a fighter forced to confront life outside the ring after spending years dedicated to the sport.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
His efforts to confront in-flight callers haven’t gone well.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
As water filled the tub, I stood at the sink and forced myself to confront my reflection.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
But Polanski now confronts the greatest crisis of his leadership so far.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
When Suvorova confronts her mother after finding the catalog, her mother replies: “Everyone was doing it.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
But its collapse comes as Congress confronts an even more complex struggle over artificial intelligence.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
Carl Wilson reviews “Lost Weekend” and the ways it confronts grief, new love, and sudden fame.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
Sooner or later, everyone who studies the Inka confronts this question.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that his country had "some difficulties... about Starlink and about intelligence" as it confronted Russian attacks on Wednesday.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
"We commemorate the victims, we share their pain," he said, adding that antisemitism must be confronted with "even greater resolve".
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
That virtuous life for Aristotle was marked by finding the mean, or happy medium, when confronted with rivaling claims.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
The actuator bottleneck Cardenas has warned against is being confronted industry-wide in the U.S.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
What did your friend Digger say when you confronted him?
From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings
Netflix, confronting flagging engagement, has tried a number of ways to get subscribers to spend more time on its platform, including adding live channels of programming as well as bundling with other streaming services.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
Jeremy Allen White finds the power of social media frightening -- an anxiety he's now confronting in his latest film.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
In a place filled with people confronting the challenge of rebuilding their lives, the lyrics of one particular song were a reverie.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
Ashok Khemka became nationally known after intervening in a controversial land transaction in 2012, while police officer Neeraj Jadaun was praised for confronting a mob during deadly religious violence in Delhi in 2020.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
Fujiko sat back and cultivated in herself the spirit of quiet dignity that would be necessary in confronting Hatsue.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
