accosted

past tense of accost
as in approached
to approach and speak to (someone) often in an angry, aggressive, or unwanted way He was accosted by peddlers selling touristy trinkets on the street. She was so famous that people would accost her on the street and ask for an autograph.

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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 accosted In 2018, two vote brokers working for Mexico’s conservative National Action Party were accosted by local voters in Nuevo Laredo. — Kenneth Greene, The Conversation, 21 Oct. 2026 The sheriff's office said the victim of the robbery reported that they were accosted by two men, who threatened the victim with a firearm and robbed them before fleeing on foot. — Coleman Petit, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026 Almost as soon as Jackie enters her flat there, she is accosted by gunmen, narrowly escaping before learning the diabolical and psychopathic mercenaries, The Seven Demons, have been tasked with ending her life. — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 2 Oct. 2026 Miltenberg said his client was publicly accosted Thursday and that his client’smother has received death threats. — Susan Svrluga, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2026 Prosecutors presented the state’s case over six days, laying out for the judge how the former plastic surgeon accosted Steven Cozzi in the bathroom of his law office on a Tuesday morning, and Cozzi was never seen again. — Lauren Del Valle, CNN Money, 23 Sep. 2026 At half-time of the mostly engrossing, controversial Manchester derby on Sunday, Marc Guehi was accosted by a Sky Sports reporter and asked a few questions. — Nick Miller, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026 Osama, donning his bulletproof blue press jacket and armed with his camera, is accosted by a woman wailing that 200 of her neighbors are gone. — Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2026 According to a police affidavit, Sanchez accosted Perry Tole after the Indiana resident had backed his truck into the loading docks of a downtown Indianapolis hotel. — Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for accosted
Verb
  • Sowells got off the Gold Line train and approached the two men.
    — Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 24 Oct. 2026
  • As this year’s midterms approached, Hinojosa tried to persuade several colleagues to enter the race for governor.
    — Stephania Taladrid, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • At least one witness told cops the teen was smoking marijuana on the train when Rodriguez confronted him about it, sparking an argument, but police have since discounted that theory, sources said.
    — Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Seeman appeared to curse at Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride, and Hill confronted Minnesota Vikings linebacker Eric Wilson after being inadvertently knocked down.
    — Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Accosted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/accosted. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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