1
as in to meet
to come upon face-to-face or as if face-to-face
quite unexpectedly encountered our next-door neighbor while vacationing in Europe
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to find
to come upon unexpectedly or by chance
we encountered a host of unforeseen problems during the restoration of our 200-year-old house
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of encounter
Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 3 Oct. 2025
In this exclusive clip, the sisters encounter one of the magical objects their ancestor confiscated.
—Elisabeth Sherman, Parents, 3 Oct. 2025
Alyssa Davis, PEOPLE, 4 Oct. 2025
For New York cinephiles, the series should offer not just an overdue encounter with a legendary critic, but a living demonstration of his method.
—Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 3 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for encounter
Verb
Brands frequently encounter obstacles, including the requirement for notarized test purchases and the treatment of each infringement as a separate case, even when multiple listings from the same seller are involved.
—Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 3 Oct. 2025
In this exclusive clip, the sisters encounter one of the magical objects their ancestor confiscated.
—Elisabeth Sherman, Parents, 3 Oct. 2025
Noun
After a chance encounter with Karl Lagerfeld on the streets of Paris, Gabriel-Kane walked the runway for Chanel — arm in arm with Julianne Moore, no less.
—Alyssa Davis, PEOPLE, 4 Oct. 2025
For New York cinephiles, the series should offer not just an overdue encounter with a legendary critic, but a living demonstration of his method.
—Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 3 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for encounter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for encounter
Verb
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But despite all that history, the church voted in June to stop meeting due to low numbers and the inability to keep up with building maintenance costs.—
Andy Humbles,
Nashville Tennessean,
6 Oct. 2025
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The mayor's office said the quick timeline is necessary to meet state notification deadlines for the change to take effect.—
Vanessa Swales,
jsonline.com,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The factors that influence GDP growth are labor and productivity, and the Gulf already has an edge in finding workers — both expats and a young local population.—
Mohammed Sergie,
semafor.com,
9 Oct. 2025
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The team found that actual methane and nitrous oxide emissions from these facilities were far higher than the Environmental Protection Agency’s estimates.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Palace, 19 unbeaten, were slicker and sharper, despite their UEFA Conference League trip to face Dynamo Kyiv in Poland on Thursday.—
Patrick Boyland,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
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Remember, under the current format, those were all teams coming off a wild-card series win, facing a team with most of the previous week off, just like the Tigers and Mariners.—
Ryan Ford,
Freep.com,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
These issues are not unique to the WNBA, as its affiliate league, the NBA, has weathered refereeing controversies and skirmishes over player pay for years.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
1 Oct. 2025
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Each new development is underscored by a lingering discomfort about the racial dynamics of the skirmish and about Maja taking action where Nourou might have wanted to leave the whole thing be.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
28 Sep. 2025
Verb
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These religious leaders are confronting a wave of violence.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
3 Oct. 2025
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On April 19, dental surgeon Akintunde Bowden, 41, was shot and killed at his Brown Deer apartment complex after confronting a neighbor about noise.—
Claudia Levens,
jsonline.com,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
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And yet, the overall package proves overly familiar, despite brushes of excellence scattered throughout.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
2 Oct. 2025
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Gomez's hair was then styled using Joico's JoiWhip Design Foam and blow-dried with a large round brush, before being pinned to set and cool.—
Starr Bowenbank,
PEOPLE,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In the skit, a camera catches fans at a game dancing and cuts to the two who dump their popcorns, do the robot and then turn back-to-back and pose.—
Bryan West,
USA Today,
7 Oct. 2025
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Will Shipley would be more of the pass-catching value, and Dillon the early-down and goal-line option, not to say both can’t do both things — hence, the hot hand (and hence for the second time).—
Jake Ciely,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Congressional Democrats have not sought to change that, at least not in the current spending fight.—
Todd Spangler,
Freep.com,
4 Oct. 2025
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The administration has also called out the arrest of Sortor, a 27-year-old conservative influencer, amid protests outside the ICE facility in Portland during what police characterized as a fight.—
Rebekah Riess,
CNN Money,
4 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Encounter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/encounter. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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