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Synonyms

frontal

American  
[fruhn-tl] / ˈfrʌn 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.

  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.

  3. Anatomy. any of several parts in the frontal region, especially the frontal bone.

frontal British  
/ 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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a decorative hanging for the front of an altar

  2. See frontal lobe frontal bone

  3. another name for frontlet

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of frontal

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

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.

See Examples For:

As recently as 2018, Kennedy held off a frontal assault on Sosa, preserving its core holding.

From Slate Jun. 24, 2026

She says dermatologists are also seeing an increase in young people with frontal fibrosing alopecia, where the front hairline starts to recede.

From BBC Jun. 6, 2026

The abundance of E. coli, Coprococcus comes, and Eubacterium hallii was negatively associated with activity in the brain's left orbital inferior frontal gyrus, a region involved in executive function and willpower during weight loss.

From Science Daily May 31, 2026

What he did and how he did it is still in the frontal lobe of those who watched and those who wrote and broadcast about him.

From Los Angeles Times Apr. 19, 2026

The part of the cortex above your face is the frontal lobe.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

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