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
Catherine Thorbecke, Boston Herald, 18 Apr. 2026
Two soldiers were seriously injured after encountering a brown bear during a training mission at a military base in Alaska, the Army said.
—Luis Martinez, ABC News, 18 Apr. 2026
Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 10 Apr. 2026
John Mitani of the University of Michigan, who has two decades of chimpanzee research experience, was stunned when the first violent encounter occurred in 2015.
—Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for encounter
Verb
The technology does not belong in elementary school classrooms, and the later students encounter it, the better.
—Catherine Thorbecke, Boston Herald, 18 Apr. 2026
Two soldiers were seriously injured after encountering a brown bear during a training mission at a military base in Alaska, the Army said.
—Luis Martinez, ABC News, 18 Apr. 2026
Noun
What Happened The encounter occurred just before noon on Saturday, according to Associated Press.
—Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 10 Apr. 2026
John Mitani of the University of Michigan, who has two decades of chimpanzee research experience, was stunned when the first violent encounter occurred in 2015.
—Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for encounter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for encounter
Verb
-
Jokic secured his eligibility for the accolade by playing his 65th game on the last night of the regular season, narrowly meeting the NBA’s quota to appear on awards ballots.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Sam Nunberg, an early campaign aide, met Trump at a wrestling match.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
His understanding of where to be, when to slow the game down and when to speed it up, his ability to show for the ball under pressure and find a team-mate in more space; these are the things that Tottenham have desperately lacked.—
Jack Pitt-Brooke,
New York Times,
21 Apr. 2026
-
Game 2 started echoing Game 1 after halftime, when Towns finally found rhythm and the Knicks looked like the more gifted team all over again.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Baldwin faced a similar charge, but the case against him unraveled spectacularly.—
Meg James,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Apr. 2026
-
The findings arrive as the district faces projected deficits, recent layoff notices and continued scrutiny over spending priorities after tense labor negotiations that concluded earlier this week.—
Teresa Liu,
Daily News,
18 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Walker, in a 10-pitch skirmish, drew a walk.—
Matt Kawahara,
Houston Chronicle,
19 Apr. 2026
-
After a skirmish in Lexington the British forces faced a larger band of Minutemen in Concord.—
Kurt Snibbe,
Oc Register,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Detective Wilson confronted him with a stack of those letters.—
Peter Van Sant,
CBS News,
12 Apr. 2026
-
The moon’s alignment with Pluto encourages you to confront the elephant in the room.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
11 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Another takeaway based on the first point is that defensible space has to be, in many cases, mandated more and more in communities where the separation between brush around homes has to be widened up to 30 or 40 feet, which is a challenge.—
Dana Taylor,
USA Today,
17 Apr. 2026
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The findings, which were made in collaboration with art historians, suggest that The Baptism could have been largely created by El Greco, perhaps while using different brushes than usual—or with hands that were affected by aging.—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen,
Scientific American,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The goal is speed and dominance, but also restraint, especially when dealing with civilian mariners who may be caught in the middle of a military operation.—
Luis Martinez,
ABC News,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Just last week, Lakers coach JJ Redick was openly critical of Ayton’s pass-catching abilities after the team dropped a third consecutive game in their late-season stretch without Doncic and Austin Reaves due to their respective Grade 2 strains.—
Benjamin Royer,
Oc Register,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The Republican candidates, State Senator Mayes Middleton and Central Texas Congressman Chip Roy, are in a very contentious fight.—
Jack Fink
April 12,
CBS News,
12 Apr. 2026
-
The crowd laughed, and the Parenthood actor noted that people intervened and broke up the fight.—
Lexi Carson,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Encounter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/encounter. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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