confrontation
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confrontation
A direct, often hostile or contentious conflict or encounter between people or groups with opposing opinions.
Er versucht immer, eine direkte Konfrontation zu vermeiden und sucht nach einem Kompromiss.
He always tries to avoid a direct confrontation and looks for a compromise.
The noun 'die Konfrontation' (confrontation) is derived directly from the verb 'konfrontieren' (to confront). The action 'jemanden mit etwas konfrontieren' (to confront someone with something) leads to a 'Konfrontation mit etwas' (confrontation with something).
Ich werde ihn morgen mit den Vorwürfen konfrontieren.
I will confront him with the accusations tomorrow.
'Konfrontation' (confrontation) is almost always used with the preposition 'mit' (with) and the dative. This applies both to conflict with people and to dealing with unpleasant facts.
Die Konfrontation mit dem Chef war unvermeidlich.
The confrontation with the boss was unavoidable.
The meaning depends on what is coming into contact. A confrontation between people is an argument, the confrontation with a fear is a personal struggle, and the confrontation of evidence is a comparison.
Die politische Debatte endete in einer scharfen Konfrontation.
The political debate ended in a sharp confrontation.
In the context of conflict, 'Konfrontation' (confrontation) is often combined with specific verbs. Typical phrases are 'eine Konfrontation suchen' (to seek a confrontation), 'eine Konfrontation vermeiden' (to avoid a confrontation), or 'auf Konfrontation gehen' (to become confrontational).
Er ist kein Mensch, der die direkte Konfrontation sucht.
He is not the kind of person who seeks direct confrontation.
In the meaning 'Gegenüberstellung' (comparison/juxtaposition), the word is used mainly in formal contexts such as with the police, in court, or in academia.
Bei der Konfrontation der beiden Verdächtigen gab es Widersprüche.
When the two suspects were compared, there were contradictions.
comparison / settlement
'der Vergleich' and 'die Konfrontation' can both mean that two things are placed side by side. 'der Vergleich' is neutral: you look for similarities and differences. 'die Konfrontation' often sounds stronger and more unpleasant. It usually means a direct conflict or deliberately facing a problem. Only in a more formal context can 'Konfrontation' also mean a comparative juxtaposition. Learners should therefore be careful: for a normal, objective examination, 'Vergleich' is usually the better fit.
Herr Neumann vermeidet die Konfrontation mit der Kollegin nicht länger.
Mr. Neumann no longer avoids the confrontation with his colleague.
Sie macht vor dem Kauf einen Vergleich der verschiedenen Modelle.
Before buying, she compares the different models.