confront

American

[kuhn-fruhnt] / kənˈfrʌnt /

verb (used with object)

to face in hostility or defiance; oppose.

The feuding factions confronted one another.
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.
to stand or come in front of; stand or meet facing.

The two long-separated brothers confronted each other speechlessly.
to be in one's way.

the numerous obstacles that still confronted him.
to bring together for examination or comparison.

confront British

/ kənˈfrʌnt /

verb

(usually foll by with) to present or face (with something), esp in order to accuse or criticize
to face boldly; oppose in hostility
to be face to face with; be in front of
to bring together for comparison

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

confronter noun
reconfront verb (used with object)
unconfronted adjective

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”; con-, front

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023