accosted

past tense of accost
as in approached
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.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of accosted 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 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 According to a police affidavit, Sanchez accosted Perry Tole after the Indiana resident had backed his truck into the loading docks of a downtown Indianapolis hotel. — Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026 In 1982, walking through a terminal at Newark International Airport in New Jersey, the Kissingers were accosted by Ellen Kaplan, a follower of Lyndon LaRouche, a cult leader with both Marxist and right-wing associations. — Robert D. McFadden, Chicago Tribune, 21 Aug. 2026 In that incident, the victim was accosted by two men who demanded valuables. — Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 31 May 2026 In previous years, the 31-year-old originally from Chicago might have lashed back when accosted on the ice. — Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 9 May 2026 At one point during the dizzying saga, the actor is accosted by two fans at a grocery store who drastically overshare about how much his work means to them. — Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for accosted
Verb
  • The golden doodles would always bark when someone approached the house, said Ashley’s father, Todd Smith.
    — Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 26 Sep. 2026
  • Kaepernick said that amid his collusion grievance, the NFL approached him and teammate Eric Reid, who knelt with him, about becoming faces of a new social justice campaign.
    — Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 26 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • In Job, a breakout Off–Off Broadway work that made it to Broadway, a tech employee confronted her therapist with a gun and demanded to be reinstated at her job, and then the twists ensued from there.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Baron Cohen was aware of the concerns at the time, not least because Walker confronted him at an industry event.
    — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 23 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Accosted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/accosted. Accessed 30 Sep. 2026.

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