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confront

 - 4 dictionary results

con⋅front

  [kuhn-fruhnt]
Use confront in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to face in hostility or defiance; oppose: The feuding factions confronted one another.
2. to present for acknowledgment, contradiction, etc.; set face to face: They confronted him with evidence of his crime.
3. to stand or come in front of; stand or meet facing: The two long-separated brothers confronted each other speechlessly.
4. to be in one's way: the numerous obstacles that still confronted him.
5. to bring together for examination or comparison.
Origin:
1595–1605; < ML confrontārī, equiv. to L con- con- + -frontārī, deriv. of L frōns forehead, front

Related forms:
con⋅front⋅al, con⋅front⋅ment, noun
con⋅front⋅er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To confront
con·front   (kən-frŭnt')   
v.   con·front·ed, con·front·ing, con·fronts

v.   tr.

  1. To come face to face with, especially with defiance or hostility: I wish to confront my accuser in a court of law.

  2. To bring face to face with: The defendant was confronted with incontrovertible evidence of guilt.

  3. To come up against; encounter: confronted danger at every turn.

v.   intr.
To engage in confrontation: "She got no child support. [She] didn't argue or confront" (Gail Sheehy).

[French confronter, from Old French, to adjoin, from Medieval Latin cōnfrontāre : Latin com-, com- + Latin frōns, front-, front.]
con·front'er n., con·front'ment n., con'fron·ta'tive adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

confront 
c.1568, "to stand in front of," from M.Fr. confronter, from M.L. confrontare "assign limits, adjoin," from L. com- "together" + frontem (nom. frons) "forehead." Sense of "to face in defiance or hostility" is c.1580. Confrontational first recorded 1975.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: con·front
Pronunciation: k&n-'fr&nt
Function: transitive verb
: to face or bring face-to-face for the purpose of challenging esp. through cross-examination confronted with the witnesses against him —U.S. Constitution amendment VI> —con·fron·ta·tion /"kän-fr&n-'tA-sh&n/ noun
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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