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

When Luiz Felipe Scolari, the coach, ignored the calls to include Romario in his squad, he was confronted by an angry mob in Rio de Janeiro. —Jack Lang, New York Times, 14 Dec. 2025

Ellis brandished multiple knives before retreating to the entrance after a customer confronted him with a firearm, the report said. —Jose R. Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 13 Dec. 2025

Police confront Luigi Mangione before arrest Prosecutors released body camera video showing the moments before Mangione was arrested at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania. —Adam Sabes , Maria Paronich, FOXNews.com, 13 Dec. 2025

The case involved a 2017 daylight attack where Inman followed, confronted and shot a man in the chest at close range at a shopping center on West Sugar Creek Road, according to a 2019 news release by the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office. —Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 13 Dec. 2025

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