as in encounters
to come upon face-to-face or as if face-to-face
happened upon the hotel manager in the lobby and promptly complained about the room
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for happens (upon)
Verb
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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
Verb
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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
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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
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Cite this Entry
“Happens (upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/happens%20%28upon%29. Accessed 2 Nov. 2025.
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