encroached

past tense of encroach
as in crept
to advance gradually beyond the usual or desirable limits each year the sea continues to encroach upon the island's beaches

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 encroached The buzzer sounded and Banchero encroached on Johnson’s space before Dyson Daniels and Onyeka Okongwu tried to break them apart. — Lauren Williams, AJC.com, 23 Oct. 2026 However, the brand’s initial dominance has gradually waned, according to insiders, as competing brands have encroached on Fenty Beauty’s market share. — Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 6 Oct. 2026 Wildfires encroached on major European cities, a once unthinkable threat. — Justin Worland, Time, 3 Oct. 2026 But gambling, for me, encroached on parts of my life that had not, until recently, felt like transactions. — Dan Horn, Cincinnati Enquirer, 20 Sep. 2026 In what his dad (Ed Harris) calls the decline of humanity, the club is being encroached on by pickleballers clamoring for more courts. — Christine Ledbetter, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026 But the somatosensory cortex, the touch cortex, has like encroached upon it. — Quanta Magazine, 6 Aug. 2026 But the judges who dissented agreed with advocates who have argued that the law was vague and encroached on their First Amendment rights. — Miami Herald, 5 Aug. 2026 Stark said developers have encroached on her community in Chandler. — Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com, 21 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for encroached
Verb
  • By spring, with the opportunity fading for a mass relocation of homes and businesses, optimism crept back into public discourse.
    — Abe Streep, ProPublica, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Europe has crept back on the scene in a real negative way, this time with France on the hot seat.
    — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 12 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • The day after Israel's modern independence, the armies of Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon, and Iraq, with a Saudi contingent in tow, invaded.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Putin’s statements, in an interview with Kremlin journalist Pavel Zarubin broadcast late Thursday, doubled down on his claims to territory in Ukraine that Russia invaded and illegally annexed in 2022.
    — Catherine Belton, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Long lines of vehicles snaked outside gas stations across Indonesia’s resort island of Bali this week after fuel deliveries were disrupted by a combination of technical problems, bad weather and surging demand, officials said Wednesday.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026
  • At Yohji Yamamoto, a long strand of eyelashes cascaded down from a model’s lower eyelid and snaked against her face.
    — Jennifer Weil, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

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

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