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

• 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 suspect allegedly confronted a female employee before attacking Assad and Mohammad with a box cutter, the outlet said. —Raven Brunner, People.com, 3 Aug. 2025

But last month, top economist Brad DeLong argued in a recent essay that the challenges confronting young job-seekers today are primarily driven by widespread policy uncertainty and a sluggish economy—not by the rapid rise of AI tools. —Jason Ma, Fortune, 2 Aug. 2025

The computational power and velocity of quantum computing will assist in addressing some of the most significant and intricate concerns confronting humanity. —Chuck Brooks, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2025

Meanwhile, students and educators will be confronted with a spate of new state laws created in this year’s General Assembly session. —Carole Carlson, Chicago Tribune, 1 Aug. 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