Synonyms of accost

accost

verb

as in to confront

to approach and speak to (someone) often in an angry, aggressive, or unwanted way

He was accosted by peddlers selling touristy trinkets on the street.

She was so famous that people would accost her on the street and ask for an autograph.

Related Words

• confront
• approach
• encounter
• face
• dare
• meet
• front
• brave
• breast
• defy
• corner
• outface
• brazen
• face up (to)
• beard
• outbrave
• resist
• affront
• stand
• challenge
• repel
• withstand
• oppose
• contend (with)
• combat
• fight
• square (off)
• battle

Dissimilar Words

• avoid
• shun
• eschew
• evade
• escape
• elude
• shake
• dodge
• sidestep
• shirk
• duck
• funk

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of accost

Prosecutors presented the state’s case over six days, laying out for the judge how the former plastic surgeon accosted Steven Cozzi in the bathroom of his law office on a Tuesday morning, and Cozzi was never seen again. — Lauren Del Valle, CNN Money, 23 Sep. 2026

In that dialogue, Endymion, the mythical shepherd, is imprisoned in an eternal sleep by Artemis and accosts a stranger who is on his way to Mount Latmus, where Endymion repairs each night to wait for Artemis. — Max Norman, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026

At half-time of the mostly engrossing, controversial Manchester derby on Sunday, Marc Guehi was accosted by a Sky Sports reporter and asked a few questions. — Nick Miller, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026

Osama, donning his bulletproof blue press jacket and armed with his camera, is accosted by a woman wailing that 200 of her neighbors are gone. — Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2026