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.

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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

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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

See Examples For:

confrontation confrontations

The episode ends with a tense confrontation between the two characters.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

Eight years earlier, in February 2018, just a few miles from where Powers and his friend initiated their confrontation, 31-year-old Dominic Jerome “D.J.”

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

Iran’s firm tone is helping keep some premium in oil prices despite easing risks of a military confrontation, Assir added.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

In this particular confrontation, Europe held nearly all the cards.

From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026

I had a sense of foreboding much like the one that had suffused so many of my days at Sing Sing—a feeling of imminent confrontation, of badness just ahead.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover

Collina has brought in red cards for players who cover their mouths in confrontations, and those who leave the field in protest at a decision.

From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026

The dispute marks one of the sharpest confrontations between the two countries in decades and reflects growing displeasure inside the Mexican government over what officials view as escalating U.S. demands.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

He previously served as Mexico’s security minister, helping implement former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s controversial “hugs, not bullets” strategy, which emphasized addressing the root causes of crime instead of military confrontations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026

In Los Angeles, a former MTV personality is running a mayoral campaign built around TMZ confrontations.

From Salon ● May 18, 2026

Dimple was excellent at arguing with Mamma, but when it came to confrontations with other people, her backbone somehow became jellylike.

From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon

Related Words

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