Synonyms of encounters

encounters 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of encounter

1

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

• meets
• confronts
• catches
• greets
• happens (upon)
• runs into
• stumbles (upon)
• runs upon
• runs across
• chances (upon)
• bumps into
• faces
• accosts
• crosses paths (with)
• passes
• salutes
• crosses
• crashes (into)
• collides (with)
• tumbles (to)
• crisscrosses
• hits (upon)
• reencounters
• lights (upon)
• remeets

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• escapes
• avoids
• shakes
• eludes
• evades
• shuns
• ducks
• dodges

2

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

• finds
• meets
• runs against
• happens (on or upon)
• stumbles (on or onto)
• comes across
• hits (upon)
• runs into
• tumbles (upon)
• runs across
• faces
• chances (upon)
• pitches (upon)
• lights (on or upon)
• discovers
• confronts
• runs upon
• bumps into
• lucks (out, on, onto, or into)
• turns up
• strikes

3

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

• faces
• meets
• engages
• fights
• battles
• takes on
• contends
• rivals
• emulates
• opposes

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• escapes
• eludes
• evades
• retreats

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

• skirmishes
• fights
• brushes
• run-ins
• brawls
• arguments
• scrapes
• quarrels
• battles
• hassles
• squabbles
• spats
• tiffs
• rows
• wrangles
• frays

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of encounters

Verb

Corrigan has personally seen evidence of rats surviving even the grisliest encounters with traps, as well as videos of rats pushing metal bars off their necks and surviving for months after losing limbs to traps. —Jason Bittel, Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026

The same thing happens again when the puppy encounters a duck. —Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026

Tempe officials note recent bee encounters Earlier in March, the city of Tempe took to social media to warn residents about bee activity. —Rey Covarrubias Jr, AZCentral.com, 29 Mar. 2026

Train on the Island operates at both extremes, as the New Zealand singer-songwriter wades through a mire of childhood memories, incels, and encounters with John Cale. —Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 23 Mar. 2026

To find a solution, an unlikely hero—a middle school teacher played by Ryan Gosling—is sent on a one-way mission to the star Tau Ceti and encounters an otherworldly sidekick nicknamed Rocky along the way. —Emma Gometz, Scientific American, 20 Mar. 2026

There are ways to make every one of these encounters more comfortable. —Maryl Sackeim, STAT, 20 Mar. 2026

Grace encounters an alien ship and finds a totally different life form. —G. Allen Johnson, Houston Chronicle, 19 Mar. 2026

Trump has made a habit of going off script during televised Oval Office encounters with foreign leaders. —Dallas Morning News, 19 Mar. 2026

Noun

When the El Paso Sector was logging more than 50,000 migrant encounters per month in late 2023, under President Joe Biden, the Big Bend Sector saw roughly 1,500. —Lauren Villagran, USA Today, 1 Apr. 2026

Sometimes the encounters are fatal, as in the cases of Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis — both American citizens killed by federal agents while out observing immigration enforcement actions. —Leila Fadel, NPR, 31 Mar. 2026

Italy happens to be in similarly ferocious form, however, and has won seven of its last eight, albeit losing twice in as many encounters with qualifying group winner Norway last year. —Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026

The announcement comes days after Fox News cameras embedded with federal safety officials in Florida captured troubling encounters with truck drivers who couldn’t read road signs or communicate in English. —Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 31 Mar. 2026

These encounters had convinced Beyer that many congregants were wrestling with how to square their sympathy for Jewish Israelis with the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. —Eyal Press, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026

Serrano had prior encounters with police and a history of mental health issues, the chief said. —Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Mar. 2026

The free event will feature crafts, play activities, animal encounters, nature presentations, vendor booths and other attractions, according to a social media post. —Mike Danahey, Chicago Tribune, 30 Mar. 2026

These encounters came at a time of broader questioning across the arts and sciences. —Leila Sloman, Quanta Magazine, 25 Mar. 2026