Adjacent Words

Confront definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CONFRONT, v.t. [L.]
1. To stand face to face in full view; to face; to stand in front.
He spoke and then confronts the bull.
2. To stand in direct opposition; to oppose.
The East and West churches did both confront the Jews, and concur with them.
3. To set face to face; to bring into the presence of; as a accused person and a witness, in court, for examination and discovery of the truth; followed by with.
The witnesses are confronted with the accused, the accused with one another, or the witnesses with one another.
4. To set together for comparison; to compare one thing with another.
When I confront a medal with a verse, I only show you the same design executed by different hands.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: oppose, as in hostility or a competition; "You must confront your opponent"; "Jackson faced Smith in the boxing ring"; "The two enemies finally confronted each other" [syn: confront, face]
2: deal with (something unpleasant) head on; "You must confront your problems"; "He faced the terrible consequences of his mistakes" [syn: confront, face up, face] [ant: avoid]
3: present somebody with something, usually to accuse or criticize; "We confronted him with the evidence"; "He was faced with all the evidence and could no longer deny his actions"; "An enormous dilemma faces us" [syn: confront, face, present]
4: be face to face with; "The child screamed when he confronted the man in the Halloween costume"

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb Etymology: Middle French confronter to border on, confront, from Medieval Latin confrontare to bound, from Latin com- + front-, frons forehead, front Date: circa 1568 1. to face especially in challenge ; oppose <confront an enemy> 2. a. to cause to meet ; bring face-to-face <confront a reader with statistics> b. to meet face-to-face ; encounter <confronted the possibility of failure> • confrontal noun • confronter noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 a face in hostility or defiance. b face up to and deal with (a problem, difficulty, etc.). 2 (of a difficulty etc.) present itself to (countless obstacles confronted us). 3 (foll. by with) a bring (a person) face to face with (a circumstance), esp. by way of accusation (confronted them with the evidence). b set (a thing) face to face with (another) for comparison. 4 meet or stand facing. Derivatives: confrontation n. confrontational adj. Etymology: F confronter f. med.L confrontare (as com-, frontare f. frons frontis face)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Confront Con*front", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Confronted; p. pr. & vb. n. Confronting.] [F. confronter; L. con- + frons the forehead or front. See Front.] 1. To stand facing or in front of; to face; esp. to face hostilely; to oppose with firmness. We four, indeed, confronted were with four In Russian habit. --Shak. He spoke and then confronts the bull. --Dryden. Hester caught hold of Pearl, and drew her forcibly into her arms, confronting the old Puritan magistrate with almost a fierce expression. --Hawthorne. It was impossible at once to confront the might of France and to trample on the liberties of England. --Macaulay. 2. To put face to face; to cause to face or to meet; as, to confront one with the proofs of his wrong doing. 3. To set in opposition for examination; to put in contrast; to compare. When I confront a medal with a verse, I only show you the same design executed by different hands. --Addison.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(confronts, confronting, confronted) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If you are confronted with a problem, task, or difficulty, you have to deal with it. She was confronted with severe money problems... Ministers underestimated the magnitude of the task confronting them. = face VERB: be V-ed with/by n, V n 2. If you confront a difficult situation or issue, you accept the fact that it exists and try to deal with it. We are learning how to confront death... NATO countries have been forced to confront fundamental moral questions. = face VERB: V n, V n 3. If you are confronted by something that you find threatening or difficult to deal with, it is there in front of you. I was confronted with an array of knobs, levers, and switches. = face VERB: usu passive, be V-ed with/by n 4. If you confront someone, you stand or sit in front of them, especially when you are going to fight, argue, or compete with them. She pushed her way through the mob and confronted him face to face... The candidates confronted each other during a televised debate. VERB: V n, V n 5. If you confront someone with something, you present facts or evidence to them in order to accuse them of something. She had decided to confront Kathryn with what she had learnt... I could not bring myself to confront him about it... His confronting me forced me to search for the answers. VERB: V n with n, V n about n, V n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Face, stand in front of, stand over against, be opposite to. 2. Oppose, stand opposed, challenge, threaten, encounter, stand athwart the path of, rise in hostility before. 3. Bring face to face, bring into the presence of.

Moby Thesaurus

accost, advance, affront, alight upon, analogize, approach, appropinquate, approximate, assimilate, await, baffle, balance, balk, be imminent, be in store, bear down on, bear down upon, bear up, beard, bell the cat, bid defiance, bite the bullet, blast, brave, brazen, brazen out, breast, brew, bring before, bring forward, bring into analogy, bring into comparison, bring up, bump heads, bump into, call out, challenge, checkmate, circumvent, close, close in, close with, come, come across, come among, come closer, come forward, come near, come on, come up, come up against, come upon, compare, compare and contrast, compare with, complain, complain loudly, confound, confront with, contend, contend with, contrapose, contraposit, contrast, contravene, counter, counteract, countermand, counterpose, counterwork, cross, dare, dash, defeat, defy, destroy, discomfit, disconcert, discountenance, dish, dispute, disrupt, dissent, double-dare, draw a comparison, draw a parallel, draw near, draw nigh, draw on, elude, encounter, envisage, face, face down, face out, face the music, face up, face up to, face with, fall across, fall among, fall foul of, fall upon, flout, flummox, foil, forthcome, front, frustrate, gain upon, gather, hang over, hover, impend, kick against, knock the chocks, lay before, lie opposite, lie over, light upon, liken, liken to, loom, lower, make a stand, match, measure against, meet, meet boldly, meet head-on, meet squarely, meet up with, meet with, menace, metaphorize, narrow the gap, near, nonplus, object, offer resistance, oppose, outdare, overhang, parallel, perplex, pitch upon, place against, place before, polarize, pose against, present to, protest, proximate, put in opposition, put it to, recalcitrate, relate, reluct, remonstrate, resist, revolt, ruin, run a comparison, run across, run into, run smack into, run the gauntlet, run up against, run upon, sabotage, scorn, scotch, scout, scream defiance, set at defiance, set before, set in contrast, set in opposition, set off against, set over against, show fight, sidle up to, similize, speak out, speak up, spike, spoil, stand, stand at bay, stand opposed, stand opposite, stand up against, stand up to, stare down, stem, step up, stonewall, strive against, stump, subtend, threaten, thwart, upset, view together, weigh, weigh against, withstand