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
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 encountering
Heaton recalled encountering a farmer in Uganda while volunteering there.
—
Angela Andaloro,
PEOPLE,
23 June 2026
Salonen found renewal not from the desperation of rethinking but from freshening, illuminating the perception of exceptional young musicians first encountering greatness.
—
Classical Music Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
23 June 2026
Humans deal with these situations using common sense but current AI can freeze when encountering a situation not present in its training data.
—
New Atlas,
20 June 2026
Those improvements suggest graduates entering Atlanta today are encountering a healthier labor market than those who arrived only a year ago.
—
Bryan Robinson,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2026
After encountering traffic and a 2-hour and 20-minute drive, Saritan was able to do exactly that, shake hands with a customer while dropping off equipment.
—
Charlie Lapastora,
CBS News,
19 June 2026
Evans said things took a turn for the worse in Manila where almost 100 British prisoners died while the ship docked for more than a month after encountering engine problems.
—
Katie Hunt,
CNN Money,
18 June 2026
Road rage is a year-round constant in Colorado, but summer can bring more drivers to the state’s roads and increase the chance of encountering an aggressive driver, Mendez said.
—
Lauren Penington,
Denver Post,
15 June 2026
What to know about the weather The event is encountering significant threats due to weather.
—
Isabella Murray,
ABC News,
14 June 2026
Angela Andaloro,
PEOPLE,
23 June 2026
Salonen found renewal not from the desperation of rethinking but from freshening, illuminating the perception of exceptional young musicians first encountering greatness.
—
Classical Music Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
23 June 2026
Humans deal with these situations using common sense but current AI can freeze when encountering a situation not present in its training data.
—
New Atlas,
20 June 2026
Those improvements suggest graduates entering Atlanta today are encountering a healthier labor market than those who arrived only a year ago.
—
Bryan Robinson,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2026
After encountering traffic and a 2-hour and 20-minute drive, Saritan was able to do exactly that, shake hands with a customer while dropping off equipment.
—
Charlie Lapastora,
CBS News,
19 June 2026
Evans said things took a turn for the worse in Manila where almost 100 British prisoners died while the ship docked for more than a month after encountering engine problems.
—
Katie Hunt,
CNN Money,
18 June 2026
Road rage is a year-round constant in Colorado, but summer can bring more drivers to the state’s roads and increase the chance of encountering an aggressive driver, Mendez said.
—
Lauren Penington,
Denver Post,
15 June 2026
What to know about the weather The event is encountering significant threats due to weather.
—
Isabella Murray,
ABC News,
14 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for encountering
Verb
-
Cell phone video shows the woman confronting longtime street vendor Arabelia Martinez at her hot dog cart at Figueroa and 7th Streets.
-
While immigration becomes increasingly polarizing in the United States and Europe, Africa's leading economy is also confronting the issue.
Verb
-
But the recent action on Anthropic, as well as asking OpenAI to limit its own newest model, comes after experts have fretted for months that Mythos could pose a security risk by giving hackers and other bad actors access to AI capable of finding and exploiting vulnerabilities exceptionally quickly.
-
Good luck finding more than a few sad options hidden in a back corner at your local salon.
Verb
-
While portals offer a vital communication channel for patients facing long appointment wait times, the cognitive load on physicians is immense.
-
The Education Department’s civil rights office had long been the last resort for parents who believe their child is facing discrimination at school, with a mandate to review all complaints.
Verb
-
The Tartan Army finally made it to Fenway, a sort of Loch Ness Monster meeting the Green Monstah, in time to watch the Texas Rangers beat the Red Sox 6-4, apparently drinking the Hub dry.
-
And also meeting John Sparrow on the bench.
Verb
-
Residents and visitors line downtown streets waving flags, children scramble for the best candy-catching spots along the parade route, and families spend the day enjoying pancake breakfasts, baseball and an evening fireworks show.
-
Rushing’s injury could have suddenly put the Dodgers’ catching situation in a precarious position.
Verb
-
That care continues once Bay and the rest of his staff begin greeting players before breakfast.
-
That energy continues after the show as Buteau and Peppermint make the rounds, greeting cast members as they exit backstage sans cat ear wigs and makeup.
Cite this Entry
“Encountering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/encountering. Accessed 30 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
