confrontation

C1 Topic:People & Society

US /ˌkɑn.fɹənˈteɪ.ʃən/ UK /ˌkɒn.fɹənˈteɪ.ʃən/ See IPA manual

Freq #11960

Meanings

1

noun
An angry meeting or argument between people who disagree, often face to face.

He tried to avoid a confrontation with his noisy neighbours.
2

noun
Open opposition or conflict between hostile groups.

The government was not ready for a confrontation with the unions.
3

noun
A conflict between armed forces.

The border dispute led to a brief military confrontation between the two nations.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · an angry meeting or... showdown encounter

2 noun · open opposition or conflict... opposition

Word family

Forms confrontations

Derived forms autoconfrontationcarefrontationconfrontationalconfrontationismconfrontationistnonconfrontationreconfrontationself-confrontation

Related forms confront

Etymology

From Middle French. Morphologically confront + -ation.

Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# confrontation

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˌkɑn.fɹənˈteɪ.ʃən/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌkɒn.fɹənˈteɪ.ʃən/
**Frequency rank:** 11960

## Meanings
1. An angry meeting or argument between people who disagree, often face to face.
2. Open opposition or conflict between hostile groups.
3. A conflict between armed forces.

## Examples
- He tried to avoid a confrontation with his noisy neighbours.
- The government was not ready for a confrontation with the unions.
- The border dispute led to a brief military confrontation between the two nations.

## Derived Forms
- autoconfrontation
- carefrontation
- confrontational
- confrontationism
- confrontationist
- nonconfrontation
- reconfrontation
- self-confrontation

## Related Forms
- confront

## Etymology
From Middle French. Morphologically confront + -ation.

## AI Etymology
Confrontation is from Middle French. Morphologically confront + -ation. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern nominal form is built from the named base and affix. Current senses include an angry meeting or argument between people who disagree, often face to face, open opposition or conflict between hostile groups, and a conflict between armed forces. The wider family includes derived forms such as autoconfrontation, carefrontation, confrontational, confrontationism, and confrontationist and related words such as confront.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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