encroaching

verb

present participle of encroach
as in creeping
to advance gradually beyond the usual or desirable limits each year the sea continues to encroach upon the island's beaches

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 encroaching Desperate struggles against the encroaching elements become a brief interlude before the situation unravels into a disaster of a different magnitude. — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 30 July 2026 While the planet is actually quite bright, its proximity to the sun means there is a small window to view it before encroaching daylight washes it out. — Michael D'estries, Travel + Leisure, 29 July 2026 These desperate struggles against the encroaching elements are merely a brief interlude before the situation unravels into a disaster of an entirely different magnitude. — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 24 July 2026 During a Friday panel at Comic-Con, Prime Video debuted a new trailer that highlighted the encroaching doom the heroes and warriors of Middle-earth are to face. — Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 24 July 2026 Gangs and drug traffickers are increasingly encroaching on Ashaninka land and using the rivers in the Amazon and adjacent land for drug routes. — ABC News, 23 July 2026 Meanwhile, rescues and evacuations were underway in northern Minnesota, where over a dozen fires caused by lightning strikes were burning and encroaching on remote campsites. — Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 16 July 2026 Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett told lawmakers Tuesday that a sharp increase in threats targeting her and other justices is increasingly encroaching on their personal and family lives. — Lindsay Whitehurst, Fortune, 14 July 2026 The funk and rock sounds fight against ever-encroaching mud and hiss; pretty melodies are offset by punishing bass or rendered disorienting by creative panning in the mix. — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 8 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for encroaching
  1. creeping
  2. invading
Verb
  • Inflation creeping higher The extreme heat compounds an expensive summer for Europe, where the war has already pushed up energy costs.
    — Anniek Bao, CNBC, 10 Aug. 2026
  • There’s a growing split between jobs where pay is jumping and jobs where raises are creeping along.
    — Jason St. Angelo, USA Today, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of creeping
Verb
  • Frantic skirmishes between the family and the beast take place as the house floods, and eventually the invading creature is tangled up in a trap.
    — William Earl, Variety, 8 Aug. 2026
  • But when his ice cream-eating schoolmates begin slaughtering their parents overnight, seemingly fueled by the wafting sound of the truck jingle and old-timey black-and-white animations invading their phones, Jared seems like the lucky one.
    — Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of invading

Browse Nearby Words

encroaches
encroaching
encroachment
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Encroaching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/encroaching. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on encroaching

Nglish: Translation of encroaching for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of zeugma

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All