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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of encounters
Joe Otterson, Variety, 30 Sep. 2025
There, the team encounters Spider-Man (Hudson Thames) and Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), who is now a floating head in a jar that can fly, courtesy of Doctor Strange's cloak.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Sep. 2025
Border Patrol encounters along the entire southern border increased nearly 27%, from 4,596 in July to 6,321 in August, the data shows.
—David Ulloa Jr, AZCentral.com, 25 Sep. 2025
First RoboGobo encounters a bat in dire need of a rescue.
—Elisabeth Sherman, Parents, 24 Sep. 2025
Lionsgate released a clip of the morgue scene where Maya encounters her deceased fiancé (Froy Gutierrez’s Ryan).
—Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 24 Sep. 2025
The lies begin as soon as Max encounters Guillermo, an arrogant nepo baby who blamed him for Ane’s death but now pretends to accept his apology.
—Judy Berman, Time, 19 Sep. 2025
Moreover, large mammals are out and about, making potentially dangerous wildlife encounters a concern.
—Kate Wong, Scientific American, 16 Sep. 2025
The kid version of Mabel encounters the middle-aged versions of Oliver and Charles.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2025
Eddie Nketiah’s stoppage-time winner last weekend balanced the scales of the past seven Premier League encounters between the sides — two victories each, plus three draws.
—Ahmed Walid, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
During Hamren’s two-year tenure, Ring moved to adopt a softer, more whimsical image marked by silly videos of backyard animal encounters and family-friendly hijinks.
—Annie Palmer, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2025
In a country where disabled people are overrepresented in jails and prisons, psychiatric institutions and police encounters, this isn’t just theoretical.
—Kate Caldwell, Mercury News, 30 Sep. 2025
Last month, the sector recorded 715 encounters, a 95% decrease from August 2024.
—Alexandra Mendoza, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Sep. 2025
Matisse would have his own encounters with the Germans in the south, but Picasso, who remained in Paris at his apartment and studio at 7 Rue des Grands Augustins, was a ready target for harassment.
—Christopher C. Gorham
september 29, Literary Hub, 29 Sep. 2025
People in the Sunshine State who have threatening encounters with the animals or who see them in distress are asked to call 888-404-3922.
—Simone Jasper, Miami Herald, 24 Sep. 2025
Thai staff were reportedly shocked by the industrial scale of the encounters.
—Stylecaster Editors, StyleCaster, 23 Sep. 2025
Verb
Gene Hackman also makes a brief appearance in the film as a blind man who encounters Frankenstein’s monster.
—Joe Otterson, Variety, 30 Sep. 2025
There, the team encounters Spider-Man (Hudson Thames) and Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), who is now a floating head in a jar that can fly, courtesy of Doctor Strange's cloak.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Sep. 2025
Border Patrol encounters along the entire southern border increased nearly 27%, from 4,596 in July to 6,321 in August, the data shows.
—David Ulloa Jr, AZCentral.com, 25 Sep. 2025
First RoboGobo encounters a bat in dire need of a rescue.
—Elisabeth Sherman, Parents, 24 Sep. 2025
Lionsgate released a clip of the morgue scene where Maya encounters her deceased fiancé (Froy Gutierrez’s Ryan).
—Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 24 Sep. 2025
The lies begin as soon as Max encounters Guillermo, an arrogant nepo baby who blamed him for Ane’s death but now pretends to accept his apology.
—Judy Berman, Time, 19 Sep. 2025
Moreover, large mammals are out and about, making potentially dangerous wildlife encounters a concern.
—Kate Wong, Scientific American, 16 Sep. 2025
The kid version of Mabel encounters the middle-aged versions of Oliver and Charles.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Noun
Marty has a series of bad encounters.
—Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2025
Eddie Nketiah’s stoppage-time winner last weekend balanced the scales of the past seven Premier League encounters between the sides — two victories each, plus three draws.
—Ahmed Walid, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
During Hamren’s two-year tenure, Ring moved to adopt a softer, more whimsical image marked by silly videos of backyard animal encounters and family-friendly hijinks.
—Annie Palmer, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2025
In a country where disabled people are overrepresented in jails and prisons, psychiatric institutions and police encounters, this isn’t just theoretical.
—Kate Caldwell, Mercury News, 30 Sep. 2025
Last month, the sector recorded 715 encounters, a 95% decrease from August 2024.
—Alexandra Mendoza, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Sep. 2025
Matisse would have his own encounters with the Germans in the south, but Picasso, who remained in Paris at his apartment and studio at 7 Rue des Grands Augustins, was a ready target for harassment.
—Christopher C. Gorham
september 29, Literary Hub, 29 Sep. 2025
People in the Sunshine State who have threatening encounters with the animals or who see them in distress are asked to call 888-404-3922.
—Simone Jasper, Miami Herald, 24 Sep. 2025
Thai staff were reportedly shocked by the industrial scale of the encounters.
—Stylecaster Editors, StyleCaster, 23 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for encounters
Verb
-
Visit the Portland Head Light for great photo ops where fall foliage meets the ocean, then explore the Children’s Garden, arboretum, and trails at Fort Williams Park.—
Beth Luberecki,
USA Today,
4 Oct. 2025
-
Sisterhood Above All meets Ava, a pledge at Southern State University's Gamma sorority.—
Rachel Raposas,
PEOPLE,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
An intimate portrait of love and exhaustion that finds the comic edge in ordinary chaos.—
Anna Marie de la Fuente,
Variety,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Many of these real-life experiences end tragically, but when the musician survives and finds sobriety, the war stories don’t go away.—
Shirley Halperin,
Rolling Stone,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Today, as the world faces over 60 conflicts — the highest number since the end of World War II — play remains as important as ever.—
Juliana Kim,
NPR,
5 Oct. 2025
-
Now Parker faces the scrutiny of the general TV audience.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
These issues are not unique to the WNBA, as its affiliate league, the NBA, has weathered refereeing controversies and skirmishes over player pay for years.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
1 Oct. 2025
-
All these years later, Corigliano’s symphony has outlasted those skirmishes and emerged sounding fresh and exciting and powerful.—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The story takes a darker turn as Saruul becomes a victim of blackmail and Myagmar confronts the limits of forgiveness, leading to a devastating choice.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
2 Oct. 2025
-
His crushing final monologue, in which Vladimir confronts his own nihilism, is as potent as anything you're bound to see on Broadway this year.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Let’s tie it all together by predicting that the first meeting of the season between Toronto and Philadelphia gets well and truly out of control … which by today’s standards means there are three fights in the game.—
Sean McIndoe,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
-
Unions, fights, and trash – oh my!—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
From this point of view, Xidan Books may seem to suffer from comparison with the Zhongshuge chain, whose outlets are drawing increasing numbers of Beijing readers thanks to interior design that catches the eye and spurs a desire to linger at length.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Oct. 2025
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But there are specific pointers for ensuring your trap catches the intruder.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
And yet, the overall package proves overly familiar, despite brushes of excellence scattered throughout.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Use it to clean makeup brushes and sponges both gently and effectively.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Encounters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/encounters. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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