verb (used with object)
- to face in hostility or defiance; oppose: The feuding factions confronted one another.
- to present for acknowledgment, contradiction, etc.; set face to face: They confronted him with evidence of his crime.
- to stand or come in front of; stand or meet facing: The two long-separated brothers confronted each other speechlessly.
- to be in one’s way: the numerous obstacles that still confronted him.
- to bring together for examination or comparison.
verb (tr)
- (usually foll by with) to present or face (with something), esp in order to accuse or criticize
- to face boldly; oppose in hostility
- to be face to face with; be in front of
- to bring together for comparison
v.1560s, “to stand in front of,” from Middle French confronter (15c.), from Medieval Latin confrontare “assign limits, adjoin,” from Latin com- “together” (see com-) + frontem (nominative frons) “forehead” (see front (n.)). Sense of “to face in defiance or hostility” is late 16c. Related: Confronted; confronting.