Affrontavo

Affrontavo is the first-person singular imperfect indicative form of the Italian verb affrontare. In English, it corresponds to “I was facing” or “I used to face.” It is used to describe ongoing or habitual actions in the past and can introduce situations, problems, or people that were confronted. The verb affrontare is transitive and commonly takes a direct object, as in affrontare un problema (to face a problem), affrontare un ostacolo (to tackle an obstacle), or affrontare un avversario (to confront an opponent). It can be used with adverbs or prepositional phrases to convey manner, such as affrontare una situazione con coraggio.

Etymology and meaning. Affrontare derives from the Italian noun affronto, which means an affront or insult, and is related to the French verb affronter. The sense of facing or confronting a challenge developed over time, so affrontare today primarily means to face, to tackle, or to deal with something directly. The noun affronto remains in Italian to denote an insult or slight, distinct from the verb’s sense of confrontation.

Usage notes. Affrontare is a common verb in formal and informal discourse and is widely used across domains such as work, sports, and personal life. It is closely related to synonyms like fronteggiare and confrontare, though fronteggiare often emphasizes standing against a threat, while confrontare centers on comparison or direct opposition. The imperfect form affrontavo conveys past continuity or habit, as in “Da giovane affrontavo sempre nuove sfide.”

See also: affronto (noun), affrontare, fronteggiare, confrontare.