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confront Definition

con·front (kən frunt′)

transitive verb

  1. to face; stand or meet face to face
  2. to face or oppose boldly, defiantly, or antagonistically
  3. to bring face to face (with) to confront someone with the facts
  4. to set side by side to compare

Etymology: Fr confronter < ML confrontare < L com-, together + frons, forehead: see front

confront Related Forms

con′·fron·ta′·tion (kän′frən tā′s̸hən) noun or con·front′al con′·fron·ta′·tion·al adjective con′·fron·ta′·tion·ist noun, adjective

confront Synonyms

confront

v.

face, brave, defy, stand up to; see dare 2, face 1.

confront Usage Examples

Object

  • dilemma: We confront no dilemmas where there is no right answer; we always know the answer to everything.
  • reality: Those who promote a right to abortion must confront the reality of what abortion does to unborn children.
  • demon: Is much of your writing a process of sorting out and confronting personal demons?
  • racism: Good communication and an open and honest approach to confronting racism are important.
  • threat: We're determined to confront those threats at the source.
  • challenge: We are working closely to confront the challenges of our time.

Subject

reality: Confronted by the bipolar ideological realities of the cold war, Haydon found himself fighting on what he saw as the wrong side.

Modifying Another Word

  • head-on: Luckily, the issue of whether to appoint an IP was confronted head-on.
  • bravely: Regardless of whether they originate at home or abroad, we must bravely confront these problems by enacting active and effective solutions.
  • suddenly: Alone, Blake is suddenly confronted by two glowing green eyes.
  • immediately: Miss Ward immediately confronted the kitchen porter and grabbed hold of him in an attempt to restrain him.
  • directly: The next three articles confront directly matters of power that occur regularly in early childhood settings.

Present participle complement

bully: Others have introduced peer mentor schemes where children look out for each other and confront bullying themselves.

Preposition: with

  • dilemma: Finding the mechanism of eruptive sources on the basis of seismic signals - are we confronted with an unsolvable dilemma?
  • reality: On arrival in the UK these workers are confronted with the grim reality of their predicament.
  • obstacle: Lillian says she used to feel hurt and demoralized at 16 or 17 when confronted with an obstacle or a barrier.
  • situation: It is a most unreliable advisor when one is confronted with a perfectly new situation.
  • mystery: Yet as Christians, we are confronted with a far more exciting mystery.
  • danger: You can go to see them, but we do not want you to be confronted with this danger.

Preposition: by

reality: Confronted by the bipolar ideological realities of the cold war, Haydon found himself fighting on what he saw as the wrong side.