as in aggressive
feeling or displaying eagerness to fight
her confrontational, in-your-face manner doesn't help get legislation passed
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Recent Examples of confrontational
Any American traveling abroad right now should prepare to have confrontational conversations, Hernandez says.
—
Terry Ward, CNN Money, 10 Nov. 2025
This year’s furry green villain is more funny than scary, his behavior unthreatening, his confrontational manner with the Whos never feeling particularly dangerous.
—Rob Hubbard, Twin Cities, 8 Nov. 2025
Lynne Ramsay has taken all of her films — confrontational tone poems generally revolving around one individual’s fissuring psyche — to Cannes.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 5 Nov. 2025
The collaboration between certain MAGA influencers and animal-rights activists has drawn out the most confrontational tendencies within each camp.
—Ava Kofman, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
The tone is both confrontational and strangely paternal.
—Jayson Buford, Rolling Stone, 3 Nov. 2025
Many Democrats have adopted a more brash and confrontational style of politics, which refuses to keep anything quiet.
—Jeremy Lott, The Washington Examiner, 31 Oct. 2025
Yet Walden’s hero turn in the second episode makes a strong case for the value of confrontational interviews with powerful politicians.
—Judy Berman, Time, 30 Oct. 2025
The Republican president has been trying to tie up trade deals along the way, eager to show that his confrontational approach of tariffs is paying dividends for Americans who are uneasy about the job market and watching a federal government shutdown extend into its fifth week.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 29 Oct. 2025
Terry Ward, CNN Money, 10 Nov. 2025
This year’s furry green villain is more funny than scary, his behavior unthreatening, his confrontational manner with the Whos never feeling particularly dangerous.
—Rob Hubbard, Twin Cities, 8 Nov. 2025
Lynne Ramsay has taken all of her films — confrontational tone poems generally revolving around one individual’s fissuring psyche — to Cannes.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 5 Nov. 2025
The collaboration between certain MAGA influencers and animal-rights activists has drawn out the most confrontational tendencies within each camp.
—Ava Kofman, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
The tone is both confrontational and strangely paternal.
—Jayson Buford, Rolling Stone, 3 Nov. 2025
Many Democrats have adopted a more brash and confrontational style of politics, which refuses to keep anything quiet.
—Jeremy Lott, The Washington Examiner, 31 Oct. 2025
Yet Walden’s hero turn in the second episode makes a strong case for the value of confrontational interviews with powerful politicians.
—Judy Berman, Time, 30 Oct. 2025
The Republican president has been trying to tie up trade deals along the way, eager to show that his confrontational approach of tariffs is paying dividends for Americans who are uneasy about the job market and watching a federal government shutdown extend into its fifth week.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 29 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for confrontational
Adjective
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That’s the kind of chance that last season, a more aggressive-looking Stolarz would have used his frame — and frankly, his big-game presence — to turn away with ease.—
Joshua Kloke,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
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The agency has also faced criticism for aggressive tactics used by ICE agents in executing the president’s immigration policy.—
Andy Rose 19 hr ago,
CNN Money,
9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Even leaving these facts aside, neither the doctrinaire socialism nor militant Islam have ever improved any place on earth, and New York City will not be the first.—
Newsweek Contributors,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
-
He was held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian militant group in Gaza allied with Hamas which also held Israeli hostages during the war.—
Jeremy Diamond,
CNN Money,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
There are guns, horses, ghosts, a primal struggle for survival in hostile terrain, family feuds and a steadily intensifying sense of mortal threat, as Old Porch’s ambition and psychopathy escalate the drama.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Nov. 2025
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Fire department suffering low morale When Washington was fired, City Manager Sheryl Long blamed him for creating a hostile work environment for female firefighters and for failing to improve the department's workplace culture.—
Aaron Valdez,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The permits that both companies have received to test and operate their self-driving vehicles became a contentious issue in the lead up to the listings.—
Dylan Butts,
CNBC,
6 Nov. 2025
-
The three faced off in two contentious debates in October, in which Mamdani and Cuomo sparred over issues of integrity and experience while Sliwa sought to paint them as two sides of the same ideological coin.—
Rachel Treisman,
NPR,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Even the combative Venezuela of eight years ago, where kids with homemade shields assembled in the streets day after day to battle the dictatorship’s goons, is a fading memory.—
Quico Toro,
The Atlantic,
4 Nov. 2025
-
Be curious rather than combative.—
Dossé-Via Trenou,
Refinery29,
26 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Chief Judge James Boasberg ruled in two more surge cases involving Paul Nguyen and Nathalie Rose Jones, each accused of assaultive or threatening conduct during summer protests.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Corigliano’s symphony is assaultive in style and confrontational in intent.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
6 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Confrontational.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/confrontational. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
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