Synonyms of accosting

accosting

verb

present participle of accost

as in approaching

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

• approaching
• confronting
• encountering
• facing
• cornering
• braving
• meeting
• daring
• fronting
• affronting
• breasting
• defying
• outfacing
• outbraving
• facing up (to)
• brazening
• resisting
• standing
• challenging
• bearding
• opposing
• repelling
• withstanding
• combating
• fighting
• battling
• contending (with)
• squaring (off)

Dissimilar Words

• avoiding
• shunning
• eschewing
• shaking
• escaping
• evading
• eluding
• dodging
• ducking
• sidestepping
• shirking
• funking

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of accosting

Court records show that 60-year-old Bradley Kyle Martin, of Dearborn Heights, is charged with using a computer or internet to communicate with another person to commit a crime and accosting children for immoral purposes. — Dejanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 25 June 2026

First accosting Zeke in the Ponderosa parking lot with a completely unsolicited offer of mentorship, George seems determined, for no apparent reason, to mold the young man in his image. — Guy Lodge, Variety, 19 June 2026

Fallon quipped that White must not be able to leave the house for fear of actors accosting him asking to be on the show. — Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 26 Feb. 2026

Maybe the white-haired woman in the Phillies hoodie has done something more egregious than being outhustled for a home run ball in the stands at LoanDepot Park in Miami, and then accosting the dad who retrieved it and gave it to his son for the kid's birthday. — Neal Rubin, Freep.com, 10 Sep. 2025

The trailer features minimal dialogue, and Farrell, 49, is seen running through the streets and accosting casino employees at one point. — Jack Smart, People.com, 19 Aug. 2025