encounter
to come upon or meet with, especially unexpectedly: to encounter a new situation.
to meet with or contend against (difficulties, opposition, etc.): We encounter so many problems in our work.
to meet (a person, military force, etc.) in conflict: We will encounter the enemy at dawn.
to meet, especially unexpectedly or in conflict: We were angry when we encountered, but we parted with smiles.
a meeting with a person or thing, especially a casual, unexpected, or brief meeting: Our running into each other was merely a chance encounter.
a meeting of persons or groups that are in conflict or opposition; combat; battle: Another such encounter and we may lose the war.
Psychology. a meeting of two or more people, as the members of an encounter group or a number of married couples (marriage encounter ), conducted to promote direct emotional confrontations among the participants, especially as a form of therapy (encounter therapy ).
Origin of encounter
1Other words from encounter
- en·coun·ter·er, noun
- pre·en·coun·ter, noun, verb (used with object)
- re·en·coun·ter, verb, noun
- un·en·coun·tered, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use encounter in a sentence
Any psychotherapist who has analyzed thousands of dreams by various patients would be bound by simple chance to note coincidences at some point between elements in dreams and common events in real life, such as encounters with insects.
The Synchronicity of Wolfgang Pauli and Carl Jung - Issue 93: Forerunners | Paul Halpern | November 18, 2020 | NautilusMcDonald said he hopes that might help with an alarming widening of social groups and casual encounters, particularly among youths.
At dinner parties and game nights, casual American life is fueling the coronavirus surge | Karin Brulliard | November 12, 2020 | Washington PostI had an encounter with an elderly lady who went to one of our distributions.
‘What we’ve seen since covid has been a precipitous increase in need,’ says Feeding America CEO | KK Ottesen | November 10, 2020 | Washington PostHe postulates that psychedelic encounters with the seemingly divine feel so significant—so real—because the drugs also enhance the meaning people impose on experiences.
Then there are the harrowing encounters with extreme weather, natural disasters, venomous animals, or, worse, the death of an expedition member, which can be difficult to manage emotionally, especially with a long way still to go on a grueling trip.
Lalo insisted during a recent interview that they encountered Chito “and his people by accident.”
An Informant, a Missing American, and Juarez’s House of Death: Inside the 12-Year Cold Case of David Castro | Bill Conroy | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTWe have no information yet on what other flights were in the air then, and what they encountered.
His later books drew heavily from experiences and people he encountered at the bar, including the cruel captain in The Sea-Wolf.
It was neither the best nor worst pickup line I encountered that evening.
The Craziest Date Night for Single Jews, Where Mistletoe Is Ditched for Shots | Emily Shire | December 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe encountered struggles that many foreign newcomers face upon beginning a new life in America.
Some weeks after, the creditor chanced to be in Boston, and in walking up Tremont street, encountered his enterprising friend.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun; | VariousIt is here that the Communist regime in Russia has encountered its most fatal difficulty.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation | H. G. (Herbert George) WellsNigel found him an excellent fellow, the most sympathetic and energetic man of Eastern blood whom he had ever encountered.
Bella Donna | Robert HichensBut the desperate resistance they encountered compelled them to abandon the island with the loss of 25,000 men.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel MunsellMegaloblasts in very small numbers have been encountered in extremely severe cases.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd
British Dictionary definitions for encounter
/ (ɪnˈkaʊntə) /
to come upon or meet casually or unexpectedly
to come into conflict with (an enemy, army, etc) in battle or contest
(tr) to be faced with; contend with: he encounters many obstacles in his work
a meeting with a person or thing, esp when casual or unexpected
a hostile meeting; contest or conflict
Origin of encounter
1Derived forms of encounter
- encounterer, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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