CONFRONT
confront, face up, face
(verb) deal with (something unpleasant) head on; “You must confront your problems”; “He faced the terrible consequences of his mistakes”
confront, face, present
(verb) 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”
confront, face
(verb) 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”
confront
(verb) be face to face with; “The child screamed when he confronted the man in the Halloween costume”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
confront (third-person singular simple present confronts, present participle confronting, simple past and past participle confronted)
(transitive) To stand or meet facing, especially in competition, hostility or defiance; to come face to face with
Synonyms: oppose, challenge
(transitive) To deal with.
(transitive) To something bring face to face with.
(transitive) To come up against; to encounter.
(intransitive) To engage in confrontation.
(transitive) To set a thing side by side with; to compare.
(transitive) To put a thing facing to; to set in contrast to.
Source: Wiktionary
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.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition