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 song is written as a conversation with that mythic other woman, who Parton confronts here in a way that manages to come across as both extremely vulnerable and drawing on a huge reserve of strength. — Ed Masley, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026

Surveillance video from the Cedar Glenn complex showed Brunson, Newman, and another unnamed co-defendant jumping a fence, approaching a Chevrolet Suburban, and fleeing after being confronted by a witness. — Ana Maria Soler, CBS News, 26 Aug. 2026

But in between the jump scares and supernatural horrors is a story of motherhood and confronting the past. — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026

But a loss could make the risks confronting the board going forward harder to ignore. — Tatiana Sataua, Fortune, 26 Aug. 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
• upfront
• battlefront
• oceanfront
• riverfront
• waterfront
• blunt

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