frontal

[ fruhn-tl ]

adjective

1. of, in, or at the front:

   a frontal view; frontal attack.

2. Anatomy.
   1. of, relating to, or situated near the forehead or the frontal bone.
   2. coronal ( def 4c ).
3. Meteorology. of or relating to the division between dissimilar air masses:

   frontal zone; frontal surface.

4. Fine Arts.
   1. exhibiting frontality.
   2. parallel to the surface in the pictorial arts or seen from the front view in sculpture:

      the frontal plane.

noun

1. Ecclesiastical. a movable cover or hanging for the front of an altar.
2. frontlet ( def 1 ).
3. Anatomy. any of several parts in the frontal region, especially the frontal bone.

frontal

/ ˈfrʌntəl /

adjective

1. of, at, or in the front
2. of or relating to the forehead

   frontal artery

3. of or relating to the anterior part of a body or organ
4. meteorol of, relating to, or resulting from a front or its passage

   frontal rainfall

noun

1. a decorative hanging for the front of an altar
2. See frontal lobe frontal bone
3. another name for frontlet

Derived Forms

• ˈfrontally, adverb

Other Words From

• frontal·ly adverb
• inter·frontal adjective
• sub·frontal adjective
• sub·frontal·ly adverb
• trans·frontal adjective
• trans·frontal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of frontal¹

1275–1325; < Late Latin frontālis ( New Latin, in anatomy sense); replacing Middle English frountel < Old French frontel. See front, -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of frontal¹

C14 (in the sense: adornment for forehead, altar cloth): via Old French frontel , from Latin frontālia (pl) ornament worn on forehead, frontellum altar cloth, both from frōns forehead, front

Example Sentences

The study shows that people with frontotemporal dementia do not display any activation of the frontal brain networks that are activated in the control group of age-matched healthy individuals.

From Science Daily

Lee’s thread and Musk’s apparent endorsement are different — they amount to a frontal attack on the program.

From Los Angeles Times

And to do that, you had to have a “frontal lobotomy” said Mr Brilliant.

From BBC

The abnormalities were most prominent in the frontal lobe of the brain, an area most susceptible to damage from trauma and frequently impacted during soccer heading.

From Science Daily

Using mice, the researchers pinpointed a group of brain cells in the frontal cortex that connects to the brainstem, where vital actions like breathing are controlled.

From Science Daily