head-on

See also: Headon and head on

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:

head-on

Wikipedia

(idiomatic) Direct, abrupt, blunt or unequivocal; not prevaricating.
a head-on approach to a problem
- 2000 [1995], François Jullien, “Preface”, in Sophie Hawkes, transl., Detour and Access: Strategies of Meaning in China and Greece [Le Détour et l'accès: Stratégies du sens en Chine, en Grèce]‎^[1], New York: Zone Books, published 2004, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 7:
  In what way do we benefit from speaking of things indirectly? How does such a distancing allow us to better discover - and describe - people and objects? How does distancing produce an effect? Westerners find it natural and normal to meet the world head-on. But what can we gain from approaching the world obliquely?
Of a collision, from the front or in the direction of motion.
Getting into a head-on collision is dangerous.
- 2021 February 24, Greg Morse, “Great Heck: a tragic chain of events”, in RAIL, number 925, page 39:
  This secondary collision, head-on with a closing speed of 142mph, caused the DVT to veer off to the left. Many of the coaches behind it overturned and careered into an adjacent field.

The adjective is also head on, especially when appearing after the verb, and thus an adverb, as in:
She likes to tackle problems head on.

direct, abrupt

from the front

head-on (not comparable)

With the front of a vehicle.
- 2015, Duncan Bruce, Tanker Jetty Safety – Management of the Ship/Shore Interface (1st 2015 ed; second ed. January 2022)‎^[2], 1st edition, Witherby Seamanship International, →ISBN, 3.1.2:
  Wave direction and frequency (period) are two factors that influence the effect of waves on a moored ship. Whether the ship responds by surging, swaying or yawing will depend on whether the waves are striking the moored vessel head-on, beam-on or quartering, the frequency of the waves and the manner in which the tanker is moored.
With direct confrontation.
- 1961 January, “Talking of Trains: Flooding at Lewes”, in Trains Illustrated, page 5:
  During the day conditions worsened quickly—for example, a 2-6-0 on the Uckfield line suddenly encountered flood water high enough to enter its ashpan and extinguish its fire—until lock gates up-river at Barcombe gave way and a tidal wave rolled down the valley meeting head-on a spring tide rolling up from the coast.
- 2022 October 13, Gina Kolata, “‘Kind of Awkward’: Doctors Find Themselves on a First-Name Basis”, in The New York Times‎^[3]:
  And there is little research to address the issue head on. A previous study, published in 2000, surveyed doctors and found that three quarters of them said some patients addressed them by their first name.

head-on (plural head-ons)

A collision from the front.
He was injured in a head-on with a larger vehicle.

collision from the front — see head-on collision