ENCOUNTERS Synonyms: 68 Similar and Opposite Words

encounters 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of encounter

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

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

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

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

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 encounters

Verb

There are also some wild dragons in Westeros like the one Rhaena (Daemon’s daughter, Baela’s sister) encounters in the Vale called Sheepstealer. —

Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026 If not, dropped points would elevate Switzerland’s stress level ahead of the final group stage match against Canada on June 24 in Vancouver, while Bosnia and Herzegovina encounters Qatar in Seattle. —

Josh Gross, Oc Register, 17 June 2026 The film follows a young woman who, visited by visions of her future self, encounters a stranger whose appearance reshapes the course of her evening – and possibly her life. —

Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 15 June 2026 Matter is so dominant in our universe that any antimatter typically encounters matter quickly and annihilates. —

Quanta Magazine, 15 June 2026 But a couple of pages later, his capsule encounters a meteoroid which explodes nearby. —

Neil Oseman, Space.com, 14 June 2026 Other landmass encounters to look out for this summer are Curacao’s games with Ivory Coast and Ecuador, and Saudi Arabia’s encounter with Cape Verde. —

Duncan Alexander, New York Times, 14 June 2026 There are few other places in the world that combine the level of land safari encounters with the optimal conditions of diving. —

Judy Koutsky, Forbes.com, 13 June 2026 When someone encounters a threat, the sympathetic nervous system stimulates the adrenal glands to release the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. —

Angela Ryan Lee, Verywell Health, 11 June 2026

Noun

Others got flung toward the accreting planet by collisions or close encounters with other objects, and Jupiter played a key role in that process. —

Kiona N. Smith, Space.com, 17 June 2026 Although he was initially disappointed by South Korea's early exit, those encounters gave him a new perspective. —

Juliana Kim, NPR, 17 June 2026 The public usually sees it only after the most serious or high-profile encounters, just a sliver of everyday police interactions. —

Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 17 June 2026 One of the more common ways bear encounters escalate is when an off-leash dog runs toward a bear, annoys it, and then comes sprinting back to its owner with an angry predator in pursuit. —

Amber Harding Outkick, FOXNews.com, 16 June 2026 Reports of strange sounds, apparitions, and unexplained encounters continue to attract visitors. —

Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 15 June 2026 Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor and Colman Domingo star in a chase to reveal government evidence of UFO encounters. —

Jake Coyle, Fortune, 15 June 2026 Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor and Colman Domingo star in a chase to reveal government evidence of UFO encounters. —

ABC News, 14 June 2026 Those encounters resulted in 50 arrests, including 16 classified as immigration arrests, placing Miami Springs among the most active municipalities in Florida participating in the program despite its relatively small population. —

Verónica Egui Brito, Miami Herald, 10 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for encounters

Verb

Lightweight summer texture meets a structured, work-worthy shape.

— Aemilia Madden, Vogue, 18 June 2026
Kelley Dennings is a campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity and a leading member of the Food Code and Reuse Committee, which meets regularly to advocate for reuse-friendly state and federal food code changes and reuse infrastructure.

— Kelley Dennings, The Orlando Sentinel, 17 June 2026