In order to know the meaning of the term confrontation, it is necessary to discover its etymological origin. In this case, we can state that it is the result of the sum of the following components of said language:
-The prefix “en-”, which means “inwards”.
-The noun “frontem”, which can be translated as “front”.
-The suffix “-ment”, which is synonymous with “result” or “means”.
Confrontation is the act and consequence of confronting . This verb (face), for its part, refers to putting or standing face to face .
A confrontation, therefore, can occur when two people or two groups argue or fight about something. Suppose two men start discussing football in a bar. The discussion escalates until both begin to insult and push each other. The confrontation continues in the street, where they fistfight. In this case, the two individuals confront each other with violence , each trying to defend their position and impose their ideas on the other.
Of course, not all confrontations lead to physical aggression. It is often said that two subjects confront each other if they maintain a heated dialogue that includes accusations, complaints or verbal attacks. A conservative deputy and a socialist legislator, to cite one case, can engage in a dialectical confrontation in a debate on TV.
In the field of sports , a confrontation is a meeting between two competitors on the playing field. Each one tries to obtain a victory and, therefore, defeat the rival. For example: “The most important confrontation of the date will be the one between Real Madrid and Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium” , “In last night's confrontation, Boca Juniors had three players sent off and five reprimanded” , “The Italian tennis player recently managed "beat the German for the first time in the ninth match they had."
In the field of history, it is very common to talk about wars. In this way, reference is made to conflicts in which two or more groups participate and that leads them to fight with weapons of different types.
Among the most relevant wars that have occurred we find World War I, which is identified not only because it caused the death of millions of people but because more than thirty countries were involved, and World War II. , which is considered the bloodiest conflict in all of history.
However, we cannot ignore other very relevant ones such as the Vietnam War (1955 - 1975), the Balkan War (1991 - 2001), the Iraq War (2003 - 2011) or the Syrian War, which It began in 2011 and continues today, eight years later.
Likewise, they also acquire relevance as war confrontations from the Battle of Trafalgar (1805) to the Battle of Austerlitz (1805) through the Cantabrian Wars (29 BC – 19 BC) or the Battle of the Golden Spurs (1302).
The notion of civil confrontation , on the other hand, refers to a conflict carried out by different sectors of a population. Instead, a military confrontation involves fighting between conventional armed forces ( armies ).