confront

English

Etymology

From Middle French confronter, borrowed from Medieval Latin cōnfrontāre, from con- + frontem (“front, forehead”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kənˈfɹʌnt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

  • Rhymes: -ʌnt
• (obsolete) IPA^(key): /kɒnˈfɹɒnt/
• Hyphenation: con‧front

Verb

confront (third-person singular simple present confronts, present participle confronting, simple past and past participle confronted)

1. (transitive) To stand or meet facing, especially in competition, hostility or defiance; to come face to face with

   Synonyms: oppose, challenge

   It is important that police officers learn to deescalate situations in which someone confronts them aggressively.

2. (transitive) To deal with.

   confront a problem

3. (transitive) To bring someone face to face with something.

   We should confront him about the missing money.

4. (transitive) To come up against; to encounter.

   Inter Milan are to confront Juventus in the final.

5. (intransitive) To engage in confrontation.
6. (transitive) To set a thing side by side with; to compare.
7. (transitive) To put a thing facing to; to set in contrast to.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• confront one's demons
• confrontable
• confrontation
• confrontational
• confronter
• confrontment

Related terms

• confronté (heraldry)

Translations

to stand or meet facing, especially in competition, hostility or defiance

• Afrikaans: konfronteer
• Albanian: ballafaqoj (sq)
• Bikol Central: atubang
• Bulgarian: противостоя (bg) (protivostoja), изправям се пред (izpravjam se pred)
• Dutch: confronteren (nl)
• Esperanto: konfronti, alfronti
• Finnish: kohdata (fi)
• French: confronter (fr)
• German: konfrontieren (de), entgegentreten (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: ἐπέρχομαι (epérkhomai) (ἐπὶ + dat.)

• Hebrew: הִתְעַמֵּת (he) (hit'amét)
• Ido: konfrontar (io)
• Italian: affrontare (it)
• Lü: ᦎᦹᧅ (ṫuek)
• Maori: whakapātari, tuma, whakahorohoro, whakatuma
• Occitan: afrontar (oc)
• Portuguese: confrontar (pt), enfrentar (pt)
• Russian: противостоя́ть (ru) impf (protivostojátʹ)
• Spanish: enfrentar (es)
• Thai: เผชิญหน้า (th) (pà-chəən-nâa), สู้หน้า (th)
• Turkish: yüzleşmek (tr) (cope with), göğüs germek (tr) (idiomatic, withstand)

to deal with

• Albanian: ballafaqoj (sq)
• Bulgarian: имам работа с (imam rabota s)
• Dutch: confronteren (nl)
• Esperanto: alfronti
• Finnish: kohdata (fi)
• German: sich einer Sache (de) f stellen (de), sich mit etwas auseinandersetzen, sich mit einem Problem befassen
• Italian: affrontare (it)
• Russian: име́ть де́ло (с) impf (imétʹ délo (s))
• Spanish: enfrentar (es)
• Swedish: konfrontera (sv)

to bring someone face to face with something

• Albanian: ballafaqoj (sq)
• Dutch: confronteren (nl)
• Finnish: kohdata (fi)
• German: konfrontieren (de)
• Italian: confrontarsi
• Spanish: enfrentar (es)
• Turkish: yüzleştirmek (tr)

to come up against; to encounter

• Albanian: kundërvihem (sq) (i)
• Bulgarian: стоя срещу (stoja sreštu)
• Dutch: confronteren (nl)
• Finnish: kohdata (fi)
• German: konfrontieren (de), begegnen (de)
• Italian: sfidare (it)
• Russian: ста́лкиваться (ru) impf (stálkivatʹsja), столкну́ться (ru) pf (stolknútʹsja)
• Spanish: enfrentar (es)
• Turkish: karşı koymak (tr)
• Ukrainian: стика́тися impf (stykátysja), зіткну́тися pf (zitknútysja)

to engage in confrontation

• Albanian: përballoj (sq)
• Dutch: confronteren (nl),
• German: konfrontieren (de), gegenübertreten (de)
• Hebrew: התעמת (he) (hit'amét)
• Maori: whakatumatuma
• Spanish: enfrentar (es)
• Swedish: konfrontera (sv)

to set a thing side by side with; to compare

• Albanian: ballafaqoj (sq)
• Bulgarian: съпоставям (bg) (sǎpostavjam)
• Dutch: tegenover stellen, vergelijken (nl)
• German: gegenüberstellen (de), nebeneinanderhalten
• Italian: confrontare (it)

to put a thing facing to; to set in contrast to

• Albanian: ballafaqoj (sq)
• Bulgarian: съпоставям (bg) (sǎpostavjam)
• Dutch: tegenover stellen
• German: einander gegenüberstellen
• Russian: сопоставля́ть (ru) impf (sopostavljátʹ), сопоста́вить (ru) pf (sopostávitʹ), противопоставля́ть (ru) impf (protivopostavljátʹ), противопоста́вить (ru) pf (protivopostávitʹ)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} confronter (fr)
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} enfrentar (es)