Synonyms for encounter
ɛnˈkaʊn təren·counter

WiktionaryRate these synonyms:1.7 / 3 votes

1. encounternoun

   Synonyms:
   skirmish, clash, confrontation, brush

2. encounternoun

   To meet (someone) or find (something) unexpectedly.

   Their encounter was a matter of chance

   Synonyms:
   clash, confrontation, skirmish, brush

3. encounternoun

   To confront (someone or something), notably face to face.

   Synonyms:
   clash, skirmish, confrontation, brush

4. encounternoun

   To engage in conflict, as with an enemy.

   Synonyms:
   confrontation, brush, clash, skirmish

5. encounternoun

   A match between two opposing sides

   Synonyms:
   brush, skirmish, confrontation, clash

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:3.7 / 3 votes

1. encounterverb

   To attack is to begin hostilities of any kind. A general invades a country by marching in troops; he attacks a city by drawing up an army against it; he assaults it by hurling his troops directly upon its defenses. Assail and assault, tho of the same original etymology, have diverged in meaning, so that assault alone retains the meaning of direct personal violence. One may assail another with reproaches; he assaults him with a blow, a brandished weapon, etc. Armies or squadrons charge; combat and encounter may be said of individual contests. To beset is to set around, or, so to speak, to stud one's path, with menaces, attacks, or persuasions. To besiege and beleaguer are the acts of armies. To encounter is to meet face to face, and may be said either of the attacking or of the resisting force or person, or of both.

   Synonyms:
   assail, assault, attack, attack, beleaguer, beset, besiege, charge, combat, fall upon, invade, set upon, storm

   Antonyms:
   aid, befriend, cover, defend, protect, resist, shelter, shield, support, sustain, uphold, withstand

   Preposition:
   We were attacked by the enemy with cannon and musketry.

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. encounter

   Synonyms:
   meet, confront, face, withstand, attack, assault, combat, engagement

   Antonyms:
   elude, avoid, escape, miss, boo

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:2.6 / 5 votes

1. brush, clash, encounter, skirmishnoun

   a minor short-term fight

   Synonyms:
   brushing, face-off, clangor, brush, coming upon, clang, clash, brushwood, skirmish, clank, confrontation, clangour, copse, meeting, thicket, showdown, friction, crash, coppice, clangoring, light touch

2. meeting, encounternoun

   a casual or unexpected convergence

   "he still remembers their meeting in Paris"; "there was a brief encounter in the hallway"

   Synonyms:
   group meeting, confluence, face-off, showdown, merging, get together, confrontation, coming together, brush, skirmish, coming upon, clash, meeting

3. encounter, coming uponnoun

   a casual meeting with a person or thing

   Synonyms:
   confrontation, meeting, face-off, showdown, brush, skirmish, clash, coming upon

4. confrontation, encounter, showdown, face-offverb

   a hostile disagreement face-to-face

   Synonyms:
   showdown, meeting, face-off, confrontation, brush, skirmish, opposition, clash, coming upon

5. meet, run into, encounter, run across, come across, seeverb

   come together

   "I'll probably see you at the meeting"; "How nice to see you again!"

   Synonyms:
   ensure, project, hit, interpret, examine, look, experience, get word, visualise, take on, come upon, fit, assure, image, fancy, run across, go steady, fulfill, learn, fill, receive, run into, discover, light upon, escort, fall upon, contact, pick up, cope with, visit, collide with, reckon, consider, happen, suffer, come across, regard, get a line, get wind, chance on, figure, take care, match, converge, gather, control, ascertain, come over, attend, date, realize, check, meet, go out, witness, attain, strike, chance, catch, forgather, construe, find out, foregather, see, jar against, satisfy, visualize, picture, fulfil, bump into, find, conform to, knock against, go through, take in, view, chance upon, assemble, see to it, butt against, insure, bump, hear, impinge on, envision, happen upon, determine, play, watch, resonate, touch, understand, get together, realise, adjoin

6. find, happen, chance, bump, encounterverb

   come upon, as if by accident; meet with

   "We find this idea in Plato"; "I happened upon the most wonderful bakery not very far from here"; "She chanced upon an interesting book in the bookstore the other day"

   Synonyms:
   line up, detect, recover, kick downstairs, find oneself, befall, take chances, get, get hold, run across, gamble, demote, fall out, find, pass off, retrieve, hazard, knock, rule, notice, meet, chance, determine, see, find out, come about, come up, play, take a chance, materialize, happen, go on, receive, feel, occur, risk, pass, incur, take place, come across, bechance, observe, run into, adventure, witness, dislodge, run a risk, ascertain, relegate, bump, take on, hap, break, regain, obtain, materialise, discover

7. run into, encounterverb

   be beset by

   "The project ran into numerous financial difficulties"

   Synonyms:
   happen, jar against, chance, bump, play, strike, take on, run into, come across, meet, knock against, impinge on, receive, collide with, hit, butt against, find, bump into, run across, see

8. meet, encounter, receiveverb

   experience as a reaction

   "My proposal met with much opposition"

   Synonyms:
   conform to, touch, take in, experience, invite, get, gather, fulfil, fulfill, adjoin, find, match, suffer, have, meet, chance, converge, fit, satisfy, receive, forgather, get together, happen, run into, cope with, fill, play, run across, incur, come across, pick up, assemble, contact, bump, take on, foregather, obtain, see, welcome

9. meet, encounter, play, take onverb

   contend against an opponent in a sport, game, or battle

   "Princeton plays Yale this weekend"; "Charlie likes to play Mary"

   Synonyms:
   conform to, touch, playact, fiddle, bet, spiel, act, take, foregather, gather, fulfill, dally, run, adjoin, find, match, flirt, suffer, acquire, fulfil, diddle, meet, chance, converge, fit, satisfy, receive, act as, toy, assume, forgather, work, get together, make for, happen, run into, cope with, fill, play, represent, run across, take over, come across, bring, recreate, roleplay, tackle, trifle, undertake, assemble, contact, bump, take on, accept, admit, wreak, see, adopt, wager

Matched Categories

1. • Be
   • Convergence
   • Experience

Editors ContributionRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. empiricism

   at the meeting last tuesday, we heard in details from the manager the strategy for an increase in salaries.

   i'm in no doubt whatever, my allergies indeed subsided after washing my inner nostrils with my urine.

   Submitted by greenwriter60 on March 28, 2019  

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. encounternoun

   Synonyms:
   meeting, rencounter, clash, collision

2. encounternoun

   Synonyms:
   attack, onset, assault

3. encounternoun

   Synonyms:
   conflict, combat, fight, contest, battle, engagement, action, skirmish, brush, affair

4. encounterverb

   Synonyms:
   meet (suddenly), meet face to face

5. encounterverb

   Synonyms:
   confront, face

6. encounterverb

   Synonyms:
   meet with, fall upon, come upon

7. encounterverb

   Synonyms:
   attack, engage with, contend against, join battle with, cope with, compete with, struggle with, strive with, fight with

8. encounterverb

   Synonyms:
   clash, skirmish, rencounter, fight, come into collision

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. encounternoun

   Synonyms:
   meeting, collision, rencounter, battle, contest, conflict, onslaught, attack

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:4.0 / 2 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "encounter":

   face, meet, confrontation, meeting, encountered, encuentro, rencontre

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How to use encounter in a sentence?

1. Jeffrey Nassof:

   We estimate that Anbang's fees could be $60 million or so, due to the cross-border regulatory issues they are likely to encounter. Not a bad haul for a firm that just disclosed $286 million in total advisory fees for their fiscal 2015.

2. Alexandra Brodsky:

   After the last [stealthing] encounter, I just became emotionally shut off, at first I wanted to get pissed and scream at the person, but all that disappointment drains you … Now I just try to be way more careful.

3. John Gehring:

   It's another signal that the Pope wants a church of encounter that journeys with people, he recognizes the church is anchored in the Gospel when mercy trumps finger-wagging judgment.

4. Choe Son Hui:

   Whether United States will meet us at a meeting room or encounter us at nuclear-to-nuclear showdown is entirely dependent upon the decision and behavior of the United States.

5. Chesa Boudin:

   We rely on officers to follow their training and to deescalate situations; instead, in just eight minutes, Officer Cha elevated a nonviolent encounter to one that took Sean Moore’s life. Sean Moore was unarmed and at his own home when Officer Cha shot him twice.