confrontation

Rarely con·front·al

[kon-fruhn-tey-shuhn, -fruhn-]

noun

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

/ 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

• confrontational adjective
• nonconfrontation noun
• reconfrontation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of confrontation¹

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

Example Sentences

He then stabbed the victim, who had only moved to Huddersfield a fortnight previously to live with his uncle, around 40 seconds after the confrontation started, in full view of passers-by, including children.

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Spivey got out of his truck holding a pistol and, in the confrontation that followed, was killed by a gunshot to the back.

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But while the revelation that brings the play to a painful climax has a faint whiff of contrivance about it, the angry confrontation that ensues between Nelson and Nick has a bruising, brutal power.

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Jacob cockily admits that he expects—wants—the night to end in some kind of violent confrontation, it hardly matters with whom.

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Most European academics appear less willing to risk a confrontation with its manifestation on American soil.

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Related Words

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