Library / English Dictionary

CONFRONT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Deal with (something unpleasant) head on

Example:

He faced the terrible consequences of his mistakes

Synonyms:

confront; face; face up

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "confront" is one way to...):

approach; go about; set about (begin to deal with)

Verb group:

confront; face; present (present somebody with something, usually to accuse or criticize)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "confront"):

tackle; take on; undertake (accept as a challenge)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Antonym:

avoid (stay clear from; keep away from; keep out of the way of someone or something)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Present somebody with something, usually to accuse or criticize

Example:

An enormous dilemma faces us

Synonyms:

confront; face; present

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Verb group:

confront; face; face up (deal with (something unpleasant) head on)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

confrontation (a focussed comparison; bringing together for a careful comparison)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Oppose, as in hostility or a competition

Example:

The two enemies finally confronted each other

Synonyms:

confront; face

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Hypernyms (to "confront" is one way to...):

encounter; meet; play; take on (contend against an opponent in a sport, game, or battle)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "confront"):

breast; front (confront bodily)

take the bull by the horns (face a difficulty and grapple with it without avoiding it)

match; oppose; pit; play off (set into opposition or rivalry)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

confrontation (the act of hostile groups opposing each other)

confrontation (a bold challenge)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Be face to face with

Example:

The child screamed when he confronted the man in the Halloween costume

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "confront" is one way to...):

face; front; look (be oriented in a certain direction, often with respect to another reference point; be opposite to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

confrontation (the act of hostile groups opposing each other)

confrontation (a hostile disagreement face-to-face)

Credits

 Context examples: 

The NCPB is intended to confront obstacles and address issues that arise in the prevention, control, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer.

(National Cancer Policy Board, NCI Thesaurus)

I felt willing rather to starve at sea than to confront such perils.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Close at his heels came a hundred furious peasants, who flung themselves again and again against the five swords which confronted them.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"As the world confronts the crisis of anti-microbial resistance, we hope it will become an important part of the anti-bacterial toolbox."

(Scientists Create Superbug-Resistant Self-Cleaning Surface, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

She stood with her bright angry eyes confronting the wide stare, and the set face; and softened no more, when the moaning was repeated, than if the face had been a picture.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Having therefore first examined him privately, and then confronted him with me and the young girl, his majesty began to think that what we told him might possibly be true.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

So looks the Shakespearean who is confronted by a rancid Baconian, or the astronomer who is assailed by a flat-earth fanatic.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

By pooling resources and expertise, the Blueprint takes advantage of economies of scale, confronts challenges too large for any single institute or center, and develops research tools and infrastructure that serve the entire neuroscience community.

(Blueprint for Neuroscience, NCI Thesaurus)

This is a challenging, sometimes explosive aspect, where warrior Mars will directly confront Uranus, the planet of all things unexpected.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

He arose to his feet and confronted himself in the looking-glass.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)