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confrontation

noun con·fron·ta·tion \ ˌkän-(ˌ)frən-ˈtā-shən \
|Updated on: 10 Jul 2018
: the act of confronting : the state of being confronted: such as
a : a face-to-face meeting
  • a confrontation between the suspect and the victim
b : the clashing of forces or ideas : conflict
  • a violent confrontation between rival gangs
c : comparison
  • The flashbacks bring into meaningful confrontation present and past, near and far.
  • —R. J. Clements
—

confrontational

play \ˌkän-(ˌ)frən-ˈtā-shnəl, -shə-nᵊl\ adjective
—

confrontationalist

play \ˌkän-(ˌ)frən-ˈtā-sh(ə-)nə-list\ noun
—

confrontationist

play \ˌkän-(ˌ)frən-ˈtā-sh(ə-)nist\ noun or adjective

See confrontation defined for English-language learners

Examples of confrontation in a Sentence

  1. There were several violent confrontations between rival gangs.

  2. He would prefer not to have a confrontation with the authorities.

  3. a series of confrontations between residents and police

  4. We want cooperation, not confrontation.

  5. We seek to avoid military confrontation at all costs.

Recent Examples of confrontation from the Web

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'confrontation.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of confrontation

see confront

confrontation Synonyms

Synonyms

ball game, battle, combat, competition, conflict, contention, contest, dogfight, duel, face-off, grapple, match, rivalry, strife, struggle, sweepstakes (also sweep-stake), tug-of-war, war, warfare;

Near Antonyms

concord, harmony, peace;

Related Words

horse race, nail-biter;

showdown;

clash, collision, discord, friction;

argument, controversy, debate, disagreement, disputation, dispute, dissension (also dissention), quarrel, row, wrangle;

CONFRONTATION Defined for English Language Learners

confrontation

noun

  • : a situation in which people, groups, etc., fight, oppose, or challenge each other in an angry way

Learn More about confrontation

  1. See words that rhyme with confrontation Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for confrontation Spanish Central: Translation of confrontation Nglish: Translation of confrontation for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of confrontation for Arabic speakers

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