1
as in to meet
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to find
to come upon unexpectedly or by chance
we encountered a host of unforeseen problems during the restoration of our 200-year-old house
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of encounter
Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY, 11 Dec. 2024
Food and gas are two of the most visible and frequent ways that consumers encounter inflation.
—Alicia Wallace, CNN, 11 Dec. 2024
Scott Tobias, Vulture, 8 Dec. 2024
An old magazine article surfaced in which one of Kennedy’s daughters remembered her father’s strange encounter with a dead whale on Cape Cod.
—James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for encounter 
Verb
Officers who responded to the home encountered Mina as she was being taken by her boyfriend to a medical facility.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY, 11 Dec. 2024
Food and gas are two of the most visible and frequent ways that consumers encounter inflation.
—Alicia Wallace, CNN, 11 Dec. 2024
Noun
Lila’s disastrous experience with the Agony nearly took her life, but the ramifications of her encounter with Dorotea turns out not to be limited to her.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 8 Dec. 2024
An old magazine article surfaced in which one of Kennedy’s daughters remembered her father’s strange encounter with a dead whale on Cape Cod.
—James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for encounter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for encounter
Verb
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In interviews, the two discussed their friendship, and the special included footage of them meeting for the first time in 2021.Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY, 17 Dec. 2024
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The students met multiple times over Zoom and then shared ideas with the adults.Max Kutner, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Teenagers spent an average of 4.8 hours each day on social media platforms, with YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat found to be the most attractive to younger users.Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 14 Dec. 2024
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The New York Police Department set out to find suspects in three separate shootings — including the mayor and the death of one of their own.Stephanie Wenger, People.com, 14 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Payers are focused on reducing costs to boost profitability, often leading to friction with healthcare providers who face increasing administrative burdens and diminishing financial returns.Kyle J. Russell, USA TODAY, 18 Dec. 2024
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Still, what the industry has faced the past four years has been pretty unprecedented.Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 17 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The skirmish ended with engineers blowing up a bridge the two Russian assault groups had used to approach Pokrovsk.David Axe, Forbes, 10 Dec. 2024
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Peterson referenced the skirmishes and fights at several NCAA football games on Saturday.Ben Morse, CNN, 4 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Where to watch:Disney+, video on demand 6. 'Civil War' With his riveting cautionary tale, director Alex Garland takes our current political and cultural divide to a disturbing place and makes audiences confront what an actual modern civil war would look like.Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 12 Dec. 2024
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In a poignant sequence in the first book, Tara is confronted, each morning, with having to explain to Thomas what has happened, and what will occur again.Rhian Sasseen, The Atlantic, 12 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Using a clean finger or pastry brush, dampen the edges with water.Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Dec. 2024
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Each box contains four to five items that can include almost anything a teen girl would love: stickers, patches, reusable water bottles, makeup brushes, sunglasses, towels, snacks… the list is pretty endless.Jessica Booth, Parents, 16 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Read more:Chiefs' Hollywood Brown Posts New Workout Video Indicating His Return Following that post, Brown posted another video, this time training and catching balls at the Chiefs' training facility.Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 12 Dec. 2024
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Over half of Purdy’s targets against Chicago went to Kittle, who continued a great stretch of play by catching six passes for 151 yards.Hank Gola, New York Daily News, 12 Dec. 2024
Noun
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While the fight was supposed to be an exhibition, Anpo didn’t appear to get the memo.Brian Mazique, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
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Read more: Fight Breaks Out After Michigan Football Takes Down Rival Ohio State in Unranked Upset Win Though it is expected for opposing teams to get chippy with one another, especially following a loss, the fight was not a good look for the NCAA.Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Encounter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/encounter. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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