rencounter
Americannoun
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a hostile meeting; battle.
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a contest of any kind.
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a casual meeting.
verb (used with or without object)
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to encounter casually.
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Obsolete. to meet hostilely.
noun
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an unexpected meeting
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a hostile clash, as of two armies, adversaries, etc; skirmish
verb
Etymology
Origin of rencounter
From the Middle French word rencontrer, dating back to 1495–1505. See re-, encounter
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.
This rencounter at Front Royal was one of the most brilliant affairs of the war and it illustrated well the marvelous intuition with which General Custer often grasped the situation, in an instant of time.
From Personal Recollections of a Cavalryman With Custer's Michigan Cavalry Brigade in the Civil War by Kidd, James Harvey
Concealing himself from any chance of a rencounter, he allotted a space of twelve minutes by his watch, and time never paced more tardy with him in all his life.
From Parson Kelly by Lang, Andrew
The most trivial play of pleasantry was embittered into an insult; the simplest sting of passing controversy was often to be healed only by a rencounter in the field.
From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 57, No. 354, April 1845 by Various
Monsieur, that I am enchanted at this rencounter!
From Rosin the Beau by Richards, Laura Elizabeth Howe
When this strange rencounter had subsided, the storming party was ordered for twelve o'clock.
From Memoirs of the Extraordinary Military Career of John Shipp Late a Lieut. in His Majesty's 87th Regiment by Shipp, John
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
