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
Tejasri Gururaj, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2025
In Colombia, an 18-year-old visits her estranged mother — a former guerrilla turned bride-to-be — hoping to find a revolutionary heroine but instead encounters silence, regret and love unspoken.
—Emiliano De Pablos, Variety, 20 Oct. 2025
If one looks downwards and to the left one encounters a curved line of four stars, which is Andromeda's body.
—Jesse Emspak, Space.com, 20 Oct. 2025
In any case, as the audience encounters figures who don’t quite conform to her earlier descriptions, the play gives Tullock a showcase of characters.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2025
Lo makes her way to the compound where the gala is being held and encounters Sigrid (Amanda Collin), Richard and Anne's head of security.
—Megan McCluskey, Time, 10 Oct. 2025
While Jeffrey is cleaning himself in the sink in the wee hours, the store’s manager (Dinklage) shows up and encounters the naked trespasser.
—Eric Andersson, PEOPLE, 10 Oct. 2025
Venturing into the wild, Rip encounters a strange group of men, done up in traditional Dutch dress and playing ninepins—bowling—in a mountain hollow.
—John Swansburg, The Atlantic, 10 Oct. 2025
Laboon is one of the first figures the crew encounters upon arrival in the source material.
—Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Oct. 2025
JSTOR Daily, 30 Oct. 2025
Trump has denied all of the encounters.
—Molly Crane Newman, Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2025
All of it comes after a new email leaked showed Fergie apologizing to Epstein for publicly disowning him and Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir Nobody’s Girl, detailing her abuse at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein and her encounters with Andrew.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 29 Oct. 2025
Mental health advocates said the encounters before Zettel’s death show multiple points of possible intervention in the days and hours before she was killed.
—Hope Karnopp, jsonline.com, 27 Oct. 2025
For families, younger kids with no riding experience can participate in gentle, one-hour pony encounters.
—Maggie Downs, Travel + Leisure, 27 Oct. 2025
Keeping patients engaged in behavioral therapies and taking prescribed medications, research has shown, is far more effective when patients have regular check-ins, and those encounters do not necessarily need to be with licensed medical personnel.
—Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Oct. 2025
One of the more unexpected encounters came courtesy of Sinatra himself, who wasn’t thrilled with a press boycott Clooney was involved in.
—Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 26 Oct. 2025
The potential for dream matches against Roman Reigns or even Stone Cold Steve Austin exists, along with blockbuster encounters against Brock Lesnar or GUNTHER.
—Andrew Ravens, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
Verb
Selective permeability takes over when fresh river water encounters pressurized seawater across a membrane.
—Tejasri Gururaj, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2025
In Colombia, an 18-year-old visits her estranged mother — a former guerrilla turned bride-to-be — hoping to find a revolutionary heroine but instead encounters silence, regret and love unspoken.
—Emiliano De Pablos, Variety, 20 Oct. 2025
If one looks downwards and to the left one encounters a curved line of four stars, which is Andromeda's body.
—Jesse Emspak, Space.com, 20 Oct. 2025
In any case, as the audience encounters figures who don’t quite conform to her earlier descriptions, the play gives Tullock a showcase of characters.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2025
Lo makes her way to the compound where the gala is being held and encounters Sigrid (Amanda Collin), Richard and Anne's head of security.
—Megan McCluskey, Time, 10 Oct. 2025
While Jeffrey is cleaning himself in the sink in the wee hours, the store’s manager (Dinklage) shows up and encounters the naked trespasser.
—Eric Andersson, PEOPLE, 10 Oct. 2025
Venturing into the wild, Rip encounters a strange group of men, done up in traditional Dutch dress and playing ninepins—bowling—in a mountain hollow.
—John Swansburg, The Atlantic, 10 Oct. 2025
Laboon is one of the first figures the crew encounters upon arrival in the source material.
—Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Oct. 2025
Noun
The novella unspools Hamida’s subsequent encounters with other disadvantaged women.
—JSTOR Daily, 30 Oct. 2025
Trump has denied all of the encounters.
—Molly Crane Newman, Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2025
All of it comes after a new email leaked showed Fergie apologizing to Epstein for publicly disowning him and Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir Nobody’s Girl, detailing her abuse at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein and her encounters with Andrew.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 29 Oct. 2025
Mental health advocates said the encounters before Zettel’s death show multiple points of possible intervention in the days and hours before she was killed.
—Hope Karnopp, jsonline.com, 27 Oct. 2025
For families, younger kids with no riding experience can participate in gentle, one-hour pony encounters.
—Maggie Downs, Travel + Leisure, 27 Oct. 2025
Keeping patients engaged in behavioral therapies and taking prescribed medications, research has shown, is far more effective when patients have regular check-ins, and those encounters do not necessarily need to be with licensed medical personnel.
—Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Oct. 2025
One of the more unexpected encounters came courtesy of Sinatra himself, who wasn’t thrilled with a press boycott Clooney was involved in.
—Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 26 Oct. 2025
The potential for dream matches against Roman Reigns or even Stone Cold Steve Austin exists, along with blockbuster encounters against Brock Lesnar or GUNTHER.
—Andrew Ravens, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for encounters
Verb
-
Still, Luna’s harmonious trine to the sun in Scorpio reminds us that there’s so much more than meets the eye.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
-
This is the promise of the process developed by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, which output a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which meets all current industry standards without requiring blending with fossil fuels.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Pooro manages to escape and finds her way home to her parents, who disown her for having spent a fortnight with a Muslim.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
30 Oct. 2025
-
Other high-end finds include platform Ugg boots that can literally elevate your winter wardrobe, plus a Bissell vacuum that sucks up debris and washes floors clean.—
Clara McMahon,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
But the program faces uncertainty if the shutdown persists.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
2 Nov. 2025
-
In the Charlotte City Council’s District 6, Republican Krista Bokhari faces Democrat Kimberly Owens.—
Josh Bergeron,
Charlotte Observer,
2 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Amid the skirmishes that ensued, federal agents fired a chemical agent toward a protester at near-point-blank range, and security personnel later opened fire on a U-Haul truck that had backed up toward a barrier on the island’s bridge, injuring the driver and an apparent bystander.—
Shomik Mukherjee,
Mercury News,
26 Oct. 2025
-
Activists literally or figuratively flying the antifa flag have long been among the subset of people who go to protests to destroy property and get into violent skirmishes with far-right protestors (like the Proud Boys).—
Sal Rodriguez,
Oc Register,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
But André, who Bonitzer has named after the early surrealist André-Aimé-René Masson, soon confronts our man with a situation that — at least on some distant subconscious level — forces him to re-evaluate his metrics.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Trust and clarity can be tricky when the moon confronts Neptune.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
26 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Historical police data shows arguments or fights escalating was a factor in about 29% of all homicides in the city since 2020.—
Kelli Arseneau,
jsonline.com,
3 Nov. 2025
-
However, leaking information about fights, movements, and filming activity happens all the time.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
How crypto founders can get rich quick Crypto founders are enjoying soaring valuations as the market catches fire by utilizing secondary sales, which allow investors to purchase shares of a company from the founder itself.—
Geoff Colvin,
Fortune,
31 Oct. 2025
-
No more market gluts that spoil catches or result in mushy frozen filets.—
Amanda Leland,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
While there are no ghosts of twin girls in blue dresses, guests often claim to have experienced brushes with the supernatural.—
Julie Tremaine,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
-
Because brushes are so much more hygienic than sponges.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Encounters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/encounters. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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