1. an argument or hostile disagreement.

2. the act of directly facing, or being encouraged or required to face, a difficult situation, realization, discrepancy, or contradiction involving information, beliefs, attitudes, or behavior. Confrontational techniques may be used therapeutically, for example, to reveal and invite self-examination of inconsistencies in a client’s reported and actual behavior, but they have a potential for disruptive as well as constructive effects.

3. in individual psychology, a statement or question calculated to motivate the client to make a decision or face the reality of a situation. —confrontational adj.