as in rivalry
an earnest effort for superiority or victory over another
the softball rivals met in an epic confrontation on the last weekend of the summer
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of confrontation
Footage from the incident shows that seconds before the shooting, Good tried to drive away from the confrontation.
—
Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 11 Jan. 2026
Video of the confrontation went viral.
—Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 11 Jan. 2026
Near the airport, some confrontations erupted Thursday and Friday between smaller groups of protesters and officers guarding the federal building used as a base for the Twin Cities crackdown.
—Rebecca Santana, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2026
The reputational damage flows from a federal strategy that seems to openly court confrontation.
—Phil Morris The Minnesota Star Tribune, Arkansas Online, 10 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for confrontation
Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 11 Jan. 2026
Video of the confrontation went viral.
—Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 11 Jan. 2026
Near the airport, some confrontations erupted Thursday and Friday between smaller groups of protesters and officers guarding the federal building used as a base for the Twin Cities crackdown.
—Rebecca Santana, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2026
The reputational damage flows from a federal strategy that seems to openly court confrontation.
—Phil Morris The Minnesota Star Tribune, Arkansas Online, 10 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for confrontation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for confrontation
Noun
-
Cal was led by a pair of players who were new to the rivalry.—
Harold Gutmann,
Mercury News,
25 Jan. 2026
-
The lawsuit is the latest chapter in the long rivalry between Hill and Rose.—
Silas Morgan,
The Orlando Sentinel,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
In a city where detentions have largely played out on the streets, Homan’s comments have highlighted a battle that has been unfolding in the background.—
Elizabeth Wolfe,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
-
The exercise of power, not surprisingly, contributed to the restlessness of a busy mind that waged battles against a committed opposition.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Hyland, who’d been a revelation prior to his recent struggles, regained form in the win.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Unlearn that struggle equals success.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Microsoft is a large investor in OpenAI, but there’s growing competition in the AI space, especially from Google’s Gemini.—
Jason Gewirtz,
CNBC,
30 Jan. 2026
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Uhlaender, a five-time Olympian, was hoping to qualify for her sixth Winter Games, but lost the chance before competition even began in Lake Placid due to Canada's withdrawals.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Nothing but bleeps ahead of Sunday's divisional duel with the Los Angeles Rams.—
Jori Parys,
CBS News,
13 Jan. 2026
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The predictive duel for Best Picture The Globes are regarded by some as a frivolous event in which celebrities care less about the awards and more about the drinks at their tables.—
Jami Ganz,
New York Daily News,
10 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Experts say several factors have driven the sharp rise over the past year, including persistent concerns about inflation, ongoing global conflicts, and the possibility of interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.—
Brady Halbleib,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
-
This was in direct conflict with the Hatch Act, which restricts federal employees from engaging in partisan political activity.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Storylines like this, in our age of escalating eat-the-rich sentiment, allow viewers to vicariously enjoy beautiful homes and high-maintenance bodies while also fantasizing about (or, for more comfortable audiences, safely exploring fears of) class warfare.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
30 Jan. 2026
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Optimized for long endurance missions with containerized payload integration, including electronic warfare, fires, C-C5ISRT (Counter-Command, Control, Computing, Communications, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Targeting) and contested logistics.—
Sabbir Rangwala,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
That helped end the war faster.—
Fiction Non Fiction,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
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As the war grinds through another bitterly cold winter, Russian strikes hit an apartment block Wednesday on the outskirts of Kyiv, killing two people.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
29 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Confrontation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/confrontation. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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