confront

verb

con·​front kən-ˈfrənt 

confronted; confronting; confronts

transitive verb

1

: to face especially in challenge : oppose

confront an enemy

The mayor was confronted by a group of protesters.

2

a

: to cause to meet : bring face-to-face

confront a reader with statistics

confronted her with the evidence

b

: to meet face-to-face : encounter

confronted the possibility of failure

confrontal

kən-ˈfrən-tᵊl 

noun

confronter noun

Synonyms of confront

• face

Examples of confront in a Sentence

They confronted the invaders at the shore.

She confronted him about his smoking.

The country is reluctant to confront its violent past.

The photographs confront the viewer with images of desperate poverty.

I confronted her with the evidence.

Recent Examples on the Web

The prosecutor said Abril confronted the couple, at which point James MacEgan was shot and killed, before Abril grabbed MacEgan’s wife and pulled her into the creek. —Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 26 Mar. 2026

Educators have for years grappled with what to do about technology in schools, confronting a range of issues from cyberbullying to artificial intelligence as a homework-helper. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2026

The bodyguard who allegedly confronted soccer star Jorginho’s stepdaughter during an encounter with Chappell Roan in São Paulo, Brazil over the weekend has issued a mea culpa for the incident and taken full blame. —Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 26 Mar. 2026

The country is deeply divided over how to confront gender pay disparity. —Jacqueline Munis, Fortune, 26 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle French confronter to border on, confront, from Medieval Latin confrontare to bound, from Latin com- + front-, frons forehead, front

First Known Use

circa 1568, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for confront

• affront
• exeunt
• forefront
• lakefront
• manhunt
• sederunt
• battlefront
• oceanfront
• riverfront
• waterfront
• blunt
• brunt

Kids Definition

confront

verb

con·​front kən-ˈfrənt 

1

: to face especially in challenge : oppose

confront an enemy

2

: to bring face-to-face : cause to meet

confronted with difficulties

confrontation

ˌkän-(ˌ)frən-ˈtā-shən

noun

Legal Definition

confront

transitive verb

con·​front kən-ˈfrənt 

: to face or bring face-to-face for the purpose of challenging especially through cross-examination

the accused shall enjoy the right…to be confronted with the witnesses against him

—U.S. Constitution amend. VI

confrontation

ˌkän-frən-ˈtā-shən 

noun