confrontational
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of confrontational
Explanation
Someone who's confrontational isn't shy about arguing forcefully — in fact, it's the way they often interact with other people. When guests on a TV talk show start yelling at each other, you can describe it as confrontational. When one person confronts another, they argue face-to-face — this interaction is confrontational. The Medieval Latin source of these words is confrontare, which simply means "adjoin," or "be next to," from the Latin roots com-, "together," and frontem, "forehead." So you could think of a confrontational situation as one in which two people are disagreeing while so close that their foreheads nearly touch.
Vocabulary lists containing confrontational
The Crossover
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Words with 15 or More Letters, List 3
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"Should Communities Set Teen Curfews?" and "Curfews: A National Debate"
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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.
The U.A.E. has since emerged as the most openly confrontational country in the Gulf and has maintained strong military cooperation with the U.S. throughout the war, according to people familiar with the matter.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026
Hollywood feels incompatible with Martel’s sophisticated, confrontational movies rooted in her country’s troubles.
From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026
"China perceives Spain as relatively friendly, less confrontational toward China than other countries and likely more independent from Washington. This allows for more autonomous decision-making," he told AFP.
From Barron's • Apr. 12, 2026
Leo has often been described as a more conciliatory and less confrontational figure than Francis, who clearly emerged from what might be called the center-left of the Latin American church.
From Salon • Apr. 5, 2026
For the moment, the oddness of my showing up was funnier than it was confrontational.
From "Hole in My Life" by Jack Gantos
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.
