ENCOUNTERS Synonyms: 68 Similar and Opposite Words

encounters 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of encounter

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

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Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

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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 encounters

Verb

When Jay encounters a giant squid being chased by a mammoth sperm whale, he’s unwittingly entangled in the former’s tentacles and swallowed up in one extended, terrifying sequence. — David MacK, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2026 An operational problem is resolved before the customer encounters it. — Ozan Ozerk, Forbes.com, 13 Oct. 2026 The country also encounters difficulties in transmitting and distributing electricity, despite substantial power-generation capacity. — Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 13 Oct. 2026 Trying to find her brother, Prue — aided by Curtis, who reveals previously unseen pluck and ingenuity — encounters a variety of colorful animal and human characters as both friends and foes. — Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 11 Oct. 2026 In the show, the crew encounters a white hole spewing time and space into the universe, and the only way to close it is for Lister to play space pool, sinking a planet into the interdimensional fissure via an over-elaborate trick shot. — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 10 Oct. 2026 After being acquitted on a technicality, the former leader encounters the ghosts of Mayan genocide victims as protests break out throughout the country in response to the verdict. — Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026 For example, turbulence arises when a flowing fluid encounters an obstacle that changes the velocity of part of the flow. — Stephen Ornes, Quanta Magazine, 2 Oct. 2026 And then Cal’s time traveler colleague Fadimatu encounters her own mummified corpse in a museum in 2018—another paradox. — Literary Hub, 1 Oct. 2026

Noun

Without the possibility of peace, encounters between rival colonies may continue to trigger violent confrontations. — Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 25 Oct. 2026 At Holmen, encounters with nature became part of the daily rhythm. — Arati Menon, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Oct. 2026 An iconic sci-fi horror series, Alien revolves around humanity’s deadly and terrifying encounters with the extraterrestrial species known as the Xenomorph. — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 23 Oct. 2026 An exhibition, publication and professional encounters developed with the European Film Academy’s Sound Chapter accompany the screenings. — Emiliano De Pablos, Variety, 23 Oct. 2026 The idea became a contemporary streetscape built around encounters, pauses and departures. — Footwear News, 22 Oct. 2026 The lawsuit also accuses the village of failing to properly train officers in crisis intervention, how to de-escalate encounters with someone experiencing a mental health crisis like Love, or the appropriate use of deadly force. — Todd Feurer, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026 While Chelsea tend to retreat after taking the lead, their opponents also become more aggressive in response, committing extra bodies forward and helping to create more open, end-to-end encounters. — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026 And a New Currents special mention went to South Korean director Lim Hayeon’s debut feature Beach Fictions, about a young woman whose escape to a seaside town brings enigmatic encounters with a novelist, a magician and a fortune teller. — Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for encounters

Verb

From Tuesday through Saturday, he can still be found in the kitchen in full effect, ensuring every meal meets his exacting standards.

— Michael Deeds, Idaho Statesman, 21 Oct. 2026
Case still meets listeners in their teens and early 20s who single it out.

— Cary Baker, SPIN, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of meets

Verb

Going deeper Deloitte’s CFO Signals article finds that many organizations manage AI spending reactively rather than proactively and rely on basic or general controls.

— Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 26 Oct. 2026
Whoever finds my key shall travel far, said Nana, though people whispered that the road to her house had no end.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of finds

Noun

This leads to even more behind-the-scenes skirmishes laced with character-centric comedy, as opposing factions align.

— Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026
Ties between the two countries remain strained over their long-running Himalayan border dispute, which erupted into a deadly skirmishes in 2020 that saw soldiers from both sides use rocks and iron rods in brutal hand-to-hand combat.

— Helen Regan, CNN Money, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of skirmishes

Verb

Life and social structures in remote river villages are rooted in summer fish camps, where the community catches, processes, and preserves the salmon that feeds them through the winter.

— Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2026
Participants step or jump off a platform more than 40 feet above the ground, experiencing a brief moment of free fall before the rope system catches them and slowly lowers them to the ground.

— Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of catches

Browse Nearby Words

encountering

encounters

encourage

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Style

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

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Synonyms of encounters

verb

noun

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