confrontation
A time when people or groups meet and strongly disagree in an angry or tense way, often face to face.
A situation in which people or groups directly oppose each other in an angry, hostile, or very tense way, often face to face.
A time when you must face a hard or unpleasant fact or problem and cannot avoid it.
The act or experience of directly facing a difficult, unpleasant, or previously avoided situation, truth, or feeling.
In therapy, a way of speaking where the therapist clearly points out a person’s problem or wrong behavior, so the person can see it and change.
In psychology or counseling, a technique where a therapist or helper directly draws attention to a person’s contradictions, defenses, or problematic behavior in order to help them change.
- Base: confrontation
- Plural: confrontation, confrontations
avoid confrontation
1try not to have conflict
To do things so that you do not have a direct fight or argument with other people.
- She tends to avoid confrontation by agreeing with everyone.
- The government is trying to avoid confrontation with the protesters.
- He walked away to avoid confrontation with his neighbor.
come into confrontation with
1enter into conflict with
To get into a serious and tense fight or argument with a person, group, or authority.
- The union has come into confrontation with the company over pay cuts.
- Environmental activists often come into confrontation with local businesses.
- The new law may come into confrontation with the country’s constitution.
in direct confrontation with
1openly and directly opposing
Openly and clearly fighting or strongly disagreeing with a person, group, rule, or idea.
- The proposal is in direct confrontation with existing regulations.
- Her comments put her in direct confrontation with the rest of the team.
- The new policy is in direct confrontation with the company’s values.
open confrontation
1public, clearly visible conflict
A fight or strong argument that is clear to everyone and not hidden.
- The disagreement finally turned into open confrontation on social media.
- Both leaders are trying to avoid open confrontation before the election.
- Years of tension ended in open confrontation in the street.