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encounter

[en-koun-ter] / ɛnˈkaʊn tər /
NOUN
brief or unexpected meeting
Synonyms
Antonyms
STRONGEST






Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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The data will help scientists better understand both the intensity and types of radiation astronauts may encounter, supporting the design of safer spacecraft and future long duration missions.

From Science Daily Jul. 14, 2026

Whatever happens to Tilly, it is unlikely to be the last AI-generated character audiences encounter.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 13, 2026

On court, Noskova had to fight back from match point down in her third-round encounter against Romania's Sorana Cirstea.

From BBC Jul. 11, 2026

But three men who were inside the vehicle with Araujo dispute that account, saying the encounter unfolded differently and that officers were not in the path of the vehicle when shots were fired.

From Salon Jul. 11, 2026

Then visit the Eloko and encounter monstrous creatures straight from the nightmares of children!

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

Even if the boundaries can sometimes feel flexible, conservationists emphasize that the islands’ broader system of protections helps preserve the Galápagos’ biodiversity and the wildlife encounters that draw around 200,000 visitors annually.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 13, 2026

That means the body should already have a head start if it encounters Ebolavirus for real.

From BBC Jul. 13, 2026

In Netflix’s new “Little House on the Prairie” adaptation, the first person that the Ingalls family encounters on their journey to Independence, Kansas, is a Black man.

From Salon Jul. 11, 2026

Living in a mountain village in northern Greece, retired furrier Dimitris Despas is no stranger to brown bear encounters -- the latest one in his garden just weeks ago.

From Barron's Jul. 9, 2026

I put some stuff about nuisance animals on the website, mostly links to animal welfare organizations’ pages about how these predators are an essential part of the ecosystem and better ways to manage wildlife-human encounters.

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz

The researchers found that the animals' curiosity was strongest immediately after they encountered the crystal and slowly faded over time, a pattern similar to the way novelty wears off in humans.

From Science Daily Jul. 15, 2026

But that was not the only division he encountered.

From Salon Jul. 13, 2026

“I first encountered a wind phone at St. Jude’s Days of Remembrance and I used their wind phone to call my kids, Ruby and Hart,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 6, 2026

Hardly a man is now alive who hasn’t encountered the opening lines of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s most famous poem: “Listen, my children, and you shall hear / Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere.”

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 3, 2026

Almost everything he encountered in Cuba—including, at our hotel, the variety of fish in the ponds, whose species he could easily name, and the caged cockatoos in the lobby—pleased him.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

The study states that the false belief has led "to negative consequences, including misinformed risk‐taking by those encountering snakes, unwarranted fear among snakebite victims, and inappropriate care delivered by misinformed or patient/family‐pressured medical professionals."

From Science Daily Jul. 10, 2026

Some commuters and bystanders documented encountering the group on public transit and in busy pedestrian areas, with social media posts describing confusion and unease during what was otherwise a heavily trafficked holiday weekend.

From Salon Jul. 5, 2026

The security-zone strategy is encountering significant challenges in Lebanon.

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 24, 2026

Zverev has sat comfortably inside the top 10 for most of the past nine years, encountering few problems while sweeping up the biggest ATP Tour titles.

From BBC Jun. 7, 2026

As a child his musical ability had quickly been spotted and he was soon in Vienna receiving training from, among others, Salieri, and encountering both Beethoven and Schubert.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall




Vocabulary lists containing encounter


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