1
as in met
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 found
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
3
as in faced
to enter into contest or conflict with
the troops encountered bands of guerrilla fighters as they made their way across the desert
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of encountered
Citing the Iquique Fishermen's Federation in the northern Chilean port city, Radio Bío-Bío reported that local fishers have not encountered Humboldt squid for three months, as Chinese vessels were suspected of disrupting the squid's migration toward the coast.
—
Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
Police said the officers encountered Billings prior to hearing screams at the park.
—Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Oct. 2025
Unfortunately, during his journey, Vasi encountered a wire snare trap, which ended up clamped around his back leg in September 2019.
—Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 11 Oct. 2025
The explosion was the latest fiery mishap SpaceX's Starship has encountered during – and, now, before – its flight tests in 2025.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 10 Oct. 2025
Gibbs encountered the phrase while reading Open Water by British writer Caleb Azumah Nelson, whose reflections on Blackness, love, and fatherhood echoed Gibbs’s own story.
—Okla Jones, Essence, 10 Oct. 2025
The Hispanic subsidiary had held that spot in past years, but last May encountered interference from Amazon, which put its upfront on the first Monday evening of the week.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2025
There, officers encountered a large group of people.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2025
Newark Liberty International encountered delays on 16% of its total flights on Monday.
—Callum Sutherland, Time, 7 Oct. 2025
Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
Police said the officers encountered Billings prior to hearing screams at the park.
—Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Oct. 2025
Unfortunately, during his journey, Vasi encountered a wire snare trap, which ended up clamped around his back leg in September 2019.
—Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 11 Oct. 2025
The explosion was the latest fiery mishap SpaceX's Starship has encountered during – and, now, before – its flight tests in 2025.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 10 Oct. 2025
Gibbs encountered the phrase while reading Open Water by British writer Caleb Azumah Nelson, whose reflections on Blackness, love, and fatherhood echoed Gibbs’s own story.
—Okla Jones, Essence, 10 Oct. 2025
The Hispanic subsidiary had held that spot in past years, but last May encountered interference from Amazon, which put its upfront on the first Monday evening of the week.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2025
There, officers encountered a large group of people.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2025
Newark Liberty International encountered delays on 16% of its total flights on Monday.
—Callum Sutherland, Time, 7 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for encountered
Verb
-
During her first week on the job, Weiss embarked on a listening tour of the network and met with top staff and producers, many of whom left the meetings with cautious optimism about the network’s future.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
13 Oct. 2025
-
Those teams, who have met in the past two conference championship games, play next Saturday at Albertsons Stadium.—
Jim Keyser,
Idaho Statesman,
12 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
On the fashion front, Schumacher, which was founded in New York by Parisian Frederic Schumacher in 1889, has been a pioneer in collaborations from its dawn.—
Sofia Celeste,
Footwear News,
14 Oct. 2025
-
The firm, which was founded in 2022, will utilize the funding to begin serial turbine production, refine its AI control algorithms, and develop next-generation models for diverse environments.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Since Mahomes became the organization’s starting quarterback in 2018, the Chiefs have faced fourth down with at least three yards to go from inside the 10-yard line some 25 times in the first halves of their games.—
Sam McDowell
October 13,
Kansas City Star,
13 Oct. 2025
-
Despite their magical abilities, Potter and his friends Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger faced the same problems as regular pre-teens and teens navigating life in boarding school.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
12 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Tole was parked in the hotel's loading dock when Sanchez confronted him, according to court documents.—
Noe Padilla,
IndyStar,
14 Oct. 2025
-
Maria Greeley, 44, said she was confronted earlier this month by three federal agents outside her workplace, the Beach Bar on Ohio Street, according to The Chicago Tribune.—
MSNBC Newsweek,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
If caught in a rip current, remain calm.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
8 Oct. 2025
-
This Trendy Queen cardigan caught my attention, since it can be layered with a variety of tops and even styled alone.—
Genevieve Cepeda,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
His cook greeted us at the door and ushered us into the living room, which now contained a skid of boxes.—
Melinda Newman,
Billboard,
14 Oct. 2025
-
As a young endocrinologist in the 1980s, David Klonoff was typically greeted with a full waiting room at the diabetes clinic at the University of California, San Francisco.—
Carrie Arnold,
Scientific American,
14 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Encountered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/encountered. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.
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