as in creeping
to advance gradually beyond the usual or desirable limits
each year the sea continues to encroach upon the island's beaches
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Recent Examples of encroaching
These insects are still evolving, and humans are increasingly encroaching on wild areas—more mosquitoes could continue to adapt to prefer feasting on us over other animals.
—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 26 Feb. 2026
Residents have raised concerns about the centers encroaching on their rural lifestyles.
—Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Feb. 2026
The plans, released in November, showed roadways encroaching on landmarks and fragmenting neighborhoods in historically Black parts of the city.
—Charlotte Observer, 20 Feb. 2026
Groundcover Low-growing groundcover junipers seldom need pruning except to remove dead tips resulting from winter damage or to keep them from encroaching on other plants, sidewalks, driveways or structures.
—Luke Miller, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Feb. 2026
Its vessels are also constantly in demand due to Chinese warships encroaching on Taipei’s maritime zones.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 9 Feb. 2026
Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior says Arsenal’s coaching staff showed a lack of respect after accusing them of encroaching on his side’s half of the pitch in the warm ups before Tuesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final defeat.
—Nnamdi Onyeagwara, New York Times, 5 Feb. 2026
Coyotes are encroaching on urban areas, and have killed household pets and livestock, while sometimes also biting humans.
—Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 27 Jan. 2026
Next to him on the catwalk-slash-stage, Marguerite LeRolland, senior global insight manager at data analytics firm Euromonitor, spoke about the shifting political landscape and encroaching economic pressures.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 23 Jan. 2026
Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 26 Feb. 2026
Residents have raised concerns about the centers encroaching on their rural lifestyles.
—Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Feb. 2026
The plans, released in November, showed roadways encroaching on landmarks and fragmenting neighborhoods in historically Black parts of the city.
—Charlotte Observer, 20 Feb. 2026
Groundcover Low-growing groundcover junipers seldom need pruning except to remove dead tips resulting from winter damage or to keep them from encroaching on other plants, sidewalks, driveways or structures.
—Luke Miller, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Feb. 2026
Its vessels are also constantly in demand due to Chinese warships encroaching on Taipei’s maritime zones.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 9 Feb. 2026
Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior says Arsenal’s coaching staff showed a lack of respect after accusing them of encroaching on his side’s half of the pitch in the warm ups before Tuesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final defeat.
—Nnamdi Onyeagwara, New York Times, 5 Feb. 2026
Coyotes are encroaching on urban areas, and have killed household pets and livestock, while sometimes also biting humans.
—Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 27 Jan. 2026
Next to him on the catwalk-slash-stage, Marguerite LeRolland, senior global insight manager at data analytics firm Euromonitor, spoke about the shifting political landscape and encroaching economic pressures.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 23 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for encroaching
Verb
-
Martha felt a creeping boredom in the long hours when nothing at all happened.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Feb. 2026
-
American co-pro money has slowly been creeping back into the market and Salt comes bearing receipts.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But invading the second biggest country in Europe, after Russia itself, would be a potentially catastrophic prospect which would, surely, give a cold strategist like Putin pause for thought.—
Matthew Chance,
CNN Money,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Many Ukrainians like Vnukova fled the invading forces.—
Yuras Karmanau,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Encroaching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/encroaching. Accessed 1 Mar. 2026.
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