1
as in confronting
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 finding
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 facing
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 encountering
Everyone has the right to remain silent and does not have to disclose their immigration status when encountering federal agents.
—
Kinsey Crowley, USA Today, 27 Oct. 2025
Motorists should be prepared to slow down when encountering dense fog.
—Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
Moreover, encountering Cassandra leads him to consider other mysterious clients of his dad’s.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 22 Oct. 2025
Ellis last week expanded her restraining order, requiring all federal agents with body cameras involved in quelling protests to have them on when encountering demonstrators.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 21 Oct. 2025
Kids can come in costume and enjoy trick or treating and interactive Halloween stations, from meeting the friendly witch in Candyland and uncovering wild experiments in the Mad Scientist’s Lab, to encountering a beloved princess and mischievous villain in their enchanted garden.
—Ut Community Press, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Oct. 2025
Looking at changing Sundance’s world, the move to Boulder in 2027 – what are some of the challenges you guys are already encountering?
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2025
Now that Joanne doesn’t need to learn Judaism 101, the narrative is more about the trickiness of relationships in their various stages than a non-Jewish person encountering the religion for the first time.
—Esther Zuckerman, Time, 21 Oct. 2025
As the Phoenix area's unhoused population grows, more residents are encountering people living on the street.
—Helen Rummel, AZCentral.com, 20 Oct. 2025
Kinsey Crowley, USA Today, 27 Oct. 2025
Motorists should be prepared to slow down when encountering dense fog.
—Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
Moreover, encountering Cassandra leads him to consider other mysterious clients of his dad’s.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 22 Oct. 2025
Ellis last week expanded her restraining order, requiring all federal agents with body cameras involved in quelling protests to have them on when encountering demonstrators.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 21 Oct. 2025
Kids can come in costume and enjoy trick or treating and interactive Halloween stations, from meeting the friendly witch in Candyland and uncovering wild experiments in the Mad Scientist’s Lab, to encountering a beloved princess and mischievous villain in their enchanted garden.
—Ut Community Press, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Oct. 2025
Looking at changing Sundance’s world, the move to Boulder in 2027 – what are some of the challenges you guys are already encountering?
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2025
Now that Joanne doesn’t need to learn Judaism 101, the narrative is more about the trickiness of relationships in their various stages than a non-Jewish person encountering the religion for the first time.
—Esther Zuckerman, Time, 21 Oct. 2025
As the Phoenix area's unhoused population grows, more residents are encountering people living on the street.
—Helen Rummel, AZCentral.com, 20 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for encountering
Verb
-
Bono also alluded to the current challenges confronting America.—
Paul Grein,
Billboard,
22 Oct. 2025
-
In videos spread across social media, protesters are shown, some confronting law enforcement and recording the raid with their phones.—
Deputy News Editor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Rutgers-Eagleton’s mid-October survey mirrored that trend, finding 42 percent of voters viewed Sherrill favorably and 45 percent unfavorably, while Ciattarelli’s numbers were 41 percent favorable and 47 percent unfavorable.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Oct. 2025
-
And with 23andMe filing for bankruptcy earlier this year, her chances of finding any additional siblings may be dwindling.—
Chelsea Bailey,
CNN Money,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Snell was facing a rookie making his seventh big-league start.—
Andy McCullough,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
-
Now, nearly three years later, could Meta be facing its own ChatGPT moment?—
Paulina Likos,
CNBC,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
While House Republicans can pass legislation with a simple majority vote, Senate Republicans cannot advance most matters without meeting a 60-vote threshold.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
26 Oct. 2025
-
However, before Eleven Labs even had a concrete product, Reina, who was working at Palantir Technologies at the time, decided to take a chance on the firm after meeting Staniszewski.—
Sawdah Bhaimiya,
CNBC,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Since posting, Watt’s video has gone viral, even catching the attention of the Live Like Maddie Foundation, which thanked her for capturing the magic and shared her clip to help promote next year’s event.—
Jordan Greene,
PEOPLE,
28 Oct. 2025
-
Filmmaking is catching inspiration on the wing.—
Susan Sontag,
Vogue,
26 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Crenn herself was there, moving through the room and personally greeting each table.—
Ryma Chikhoune,
Footwear News,
20 Oct. 2025
-
Carell attended the play alongside his wife, SNL alum Nancy Carell, and could be seen greeting fans and hyping up his former costar near the stage door in a video that Fischer shared on Instagram on Friday.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
17 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Encountering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/encountering. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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