confronted

Confronted is the past tense and past participle of the verb confront. It describes bringing someone or something face to face, or facing and challenging a person, situation, or truth directly. In broader use, it can refer to both literal encounters and figurative experiences, such as being compelled to deal with a problem, an accusation, or difficult information. As an adjective, confronted indicates that someone has been faced with an obstacle or challenge.

Etymology and sense: The word derives from the idea of bringing two parties or objects into proximity so that their front, or face, is exposed to each other. In English, confront can take a direct object (confront someone) or be used with prepositional phrases (confronted with). The phrase is common in journalism, personal development, law enforcement, and everyday narration.

Usage and nuance: Confronted often conveys a sense of accountability, exposure, or urgency. It can imply a moral or practical clash that requires a response. Common collocations include confronted with evidence, confronted by a problem, or confronted by a person. The noun form is confrontation, while the related adjective is confrontational, which can carry a more aggressive or oppositional connotation.

See also: confrontation, confrontational, face, challenge, encounter.

Examples: She confronted her fears by speaking in public. The company was confronted with a sudden drop in revenue. Investigators confronted the suspect with new evidence. The report describes the community confronted with difficult choices.