confrontation

American  

[kon-fruhn-tey-shuhn, -fruhn-] / ˌkɒn frənˈteɪ ʃən, -frʌn- /

Rarely confrontal

noun

confrontations plural

1. an act of confronting.

2. the state of being confronted.

3. a meeting of persons face to face.

4. an open conflict of opposing ideas, forces, etc.

5. a bringing together of ideas, themes, etc., for comparison.

6. Psychology. a technique used in group therapy, as in encounter groups, in which one is forced to recognize one's shortcomings and their possible consequences.

---

confrontation British  

/ kɒnˈfrʌntmənt, ˌkɒnfrʌnˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or an instance of confronting

2. a situation of mutual hostility between two powers or nations without open warfare

3. a state of conflict between two antagonistic forces, creeds, or ideas etc

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonconfrontation
  noun
• reconfrontation
  noun
• confrontational
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• confrontations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of confrontation

First recorded in 1625–35; confront + -ation; compare Medieval Latin confrontātiō, French, Middle French confrontation

Explanation

A confrontation is an angry disagreement. You might become so irritated about your upstairs neighbor's loud, awful music that a confrontation is unavoidable. Confrontation implies hostility, although like a fight, a confrontation can involve actual violence, or just a clash of words. A confrontation often refers to a military encounter involving opposing armies. This meaning became popular after the Cuban missile crisis in 1963. Before that, confrontation was used to mean "bringing two opposing parties face to face," from the Latin word confrontationem.

Example Sentences

There were reports of a verbal confrontation between members of Beccacece's family and supporters after their goalless draw against Curacao last week.

From BBC • Jun. 26, 2026

"We see the future of the region not in confrontation but in interaction and not in elimination but in coexistence," Ghalibaf said.

From Barron's • Jun. 24, 2026

“I think that, yes, there was a kind of risk taken by the Iranians, but it doesn’t seem that Iran really wanted to be engaged in a full-scale confrontation with Israel,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026

But this week’s confrontation with Israel, the first time Iran engaged in direct hostilities in defense of an ally, represents a significant shift, said Sadegh Larijani, head of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026

I pointed to the fine print, my palms getting sweaty even at this tiny amount of confrontation.

From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon

Related Words

• battle
• contest
• crisis
• dispute
• encounter
• fight
• meeting
• showdown
• strife