confront
Americanverb (used with object)
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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.
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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
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had confrontedperfect
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was confrontingprogressive
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were confrontingprogressive
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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:
When her wife got out of the car to film and confront ICE officers, Good was told to leave, then ordered to get out of the car.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
"If that's happening on the outside, you don't necessarily know about it. On the show, you have to confront it head on."
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
McElwee refuses to scrub the truth from his personal histories, choosing instead to confront his own regrets head-on.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
It would have been embarrassing for them even to be confronted for saying so if anyone bothered to confront them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
It was as though a fog had lifted, forcing him to confront an uncomfortable truth.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
The Hades sequence gets much of its emotional weight from Page, as Sinon confronts Odysseus with the lie that sent him to his death.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
“If my kids had to come by and see this, I would like to hear how you would explain to my children what you are supposed to be,” Babb says as he confronts Gamble.
From Slate ● May 4, 2026
The huge question now is whether that changes when the Labour Party confronts the likely grizzly reality of the electorate's verdict early next month.
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2026
He does not merely mourn his friend; he confronts, for the first time, the intolerable knowledge of his own extinction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
An old homeless man confronts me quietly with his beard, his missing teeth, and his poverty.
From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak
Cooper testified that Drakeo’s group was confronted by at least 20 to 25 people backstage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
Several weeks into the rollout, the lofty goals of the accounts are being confronted by day-to-day realities.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
Gomez meanwhile said that while Maradona was seen as a revolutionary who confronted FIFA's power, current narratives perceive Messi as FIFA's "golden boy."
From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026
It would have been embarrassing for them even to be confronted for saying so if anyone bothered to confront them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Studies have shown that Maclin’s common sense is correct: the overwhelming majority of people who are confronted by police and asked questions respond, and when asked to be searched, they comply.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
The association honored Secret Service agent Victor Gonzalez, who was shot in his protective vest while confronting the gunman, along with Washington Hilton employees who helped guests during the attack.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
Some had wanted the house to become a centre of responsibility, confronting the Nazi past.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Modern koalas, however, are now confronting a different combination of dangers.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026
Getting a read on the new Fed chairman is just one of the challenges confronting investors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
Austin taught Fuller to take on the upper class in the black community with the same zeal and uncompromising spirit that he used in confronting the white power structure.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
