(law) legal proceedings consisting of the judicial examination of issues by a competent tribunal; "most of these complaints are settled before they go to trial"
(law) the determination of a person's innocence or guilt by due process of law; "he had a fair trial and the jury found him guilty"
trying something to find out about it; "a sample for ten days free trial"; "a trial of progesterone failed to relieve the pain"
an annoying or frustrating or catastrophic event; "his mother-in-law's visits were a great trial for him"; "life is full of tribulations"; "a visitation of the plague"
(sports) a preliminary competition to determine qualifications; "the trials for the semifinals began yesterday"
a forceful forward rush or flow; "from the bow she stared at the mesmerising onrush of the sea where it split and foamed"; "the explosion interrupted the wild onrush of her thoughts"
deal with (something unpleasant) head on; "You must confront your problems"; "He faced the terrible consequences of his mistakes"
present somebody with something, usually to accuse or criticize; "We confronted him with the evidence"; "He was faced with all the evidence and could no longer deny his actions"; "An enormous dilemma faces us"
oppose, as in hostility or a competition; "You must confront your opponent"; "Jackson faced Smith in the boxing ring"; "The two enemies finally confronted each other"
be face to face with; "The child screamed when he confronted the man in the Halloween costume"
point out or draw attention to in protest or remonstrance; "our parents represented to us the need for more caution"
describe or present, usually with respect to a particular quality; "He represented this book as an example of the Russian 19th century novel"
serve as a means of expressing something; "The flower represents a young girl"
create an image or likeness of; "The painter represented his wife as a young girl"
be a delegate or spokesperson for; represent somebody's interest or be a proxy or substitute for, as of politicians and office holders representing their constituents, or of a tenant representing other tenants in a housing dispute; "I represent the silent majority"
be representative or typical for; "This period is represented by Beethoven"
take the place of or be parallel or equivalent to; "Because of the sound changes in the course of history, an 'h' in Greek stands for an 's' in Latin"