Synonyms of encounters

encounters 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of encounter

1

as in meets

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

• meets
• confronts
• catches
• greets
• happens (upon)
• runs into
• stumbles (upon)
• runs upon
• runs across
• chances (upon)
• bumps into
• faces
• accosts
• crosses paths (with)
• passes
• salutes
• crosses
• crashes (into)
• collides (with)
• tumbles (to)
• crisscrosses
• hits (upon)
• reencounters
• lights (upon)
• remeets

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• escapes
• avoids
• shakes
• eludes
• evades
• shuns
• ducks
• dodges

2

as in finds

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

• finds
• meets
• runs against
• happens (on or upon)
• stumbles (on or onto)
• comes across
• hits (upon)
• runs into
• tumbles (upon)
• runs across
• faces
• chances (upon)
• pitches (upon)
• lights (on or upon)
• discovers
• confronts
• runs upon
• bumps into
• lucks (out, on, onto, or into)
• turns up
• strikes

3

as in faces

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

• faces
• meets
• engages
• fights
• battles
• takes on
• contends
• rivals
• emulates
• opposes

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• escapes
• eludes
• evades
• retreats

encounters

2 of 2

noun

plural of encounter

as in skirmishes

a brief clash between enemies or rivals

survived an encounter with the school bully at the local park

Synonyms & Similar Words

• skirmishes
• fights
• brushes
• run-ins
• brawls
• arguments
• scrapes
• quarrels
• battles
• hassles
• squabbles
• spats
• tiffs
• rows
• wrangles
• frays

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of encounters

Verb

Viscose Rugs Jones encounters many homeowners with viscose rugs but is determined that her clients do not go the route of this material. — Sarah Lyon, The Spruce, 19 Sep. 2026

Anyone who encounters a dead or stranded marine mammal is urged to leave the animal alone and immediately report the sighting to local wildlife authorities or the Marine Mammal Stranding Network. — ABC News, 18 Sep. 2026

Their fragile relationship is disrupted when Sethu encounters a feral child in the forest and brings him home. — Ed Meza, Variety, 18 Sep. 2026

Layered within its experimental form is a commentary on immigration and 21st century America, as the family regularly encounters Latinx migrants whose own families have been disrupted by the indifference of American immigration policies. — Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026

Sometimes a starship encounters a cosmic entity that — for some hard-to-fathom reason — chooses to study lesser mortals by forcing them into a big old game of dress-up. — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 17 Sep. 2026

That message feels just as important to Foster today, particularly as a new generation encounters the brand for the first time. — Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 15 Sep. 2026

Sometimes the upgrade is simply removing friction before the guest encounters it. — Jeffery Khoury, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026

The lawsuit describes disturbing encounters seven Common Cause members had with federal officers in Maryland, Minnesota and New Jersey after trying to observe immigration enforcement. — Jude Joffe-Block, NPR, 10 Sep. 2026

Noun

Spencer arrested three times in September The violent weekend followed a series of encounters between Spencer and law enforcement. — Daniel Hunt, Sacbee.com, 21 Sep. 2026

This shooting is the latest in a series of violent encounters involving ICE agents. — Sergio Martínez-Beltrán, NPR, 20 Sep. 2026

The brand used smaller-scale settings to facilitate exchange and give participants more space to interact, while a continuous series of activities allowed individual encounters to develop into relationships. — Advertorial, Footwear News, 19 Sep. 2026

André Breton, in Nadja and Mad Love, conjured his occult project of Surrealism from the city’s chance encounters, not least between the present and the dreamy past, its flea markets and arcana. — Ange Mlinko, The New York Review of Books, 19 Sep. 2026

The goal is for those encounters to lead to collaborations and longer-term support networks. — Kansas City Star, 18 Sep. 2026

Her mystical encounters with the divine through the natural world are reminiscent of poets like Gerard Manley Hopkins, Wendell Berry and Mary Oliver. — Amy Cannon, The Conversation, 18 Sep. 2026

Refrain from feeding wildlife, which can cause animals to lose their natural fear of people and may lead to dangerous encounters. — Renee Anderson, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026

The interrupted tea time is one of several recent surprising snake encounters. — Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2026