encountered

verb

past tense of encounter
1
as in met
to come upon face-to-face or as if face-to-face quite unexpectedly encountered our next-door neighbor while vacationing in Europe

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in found
to come upon unexpectedly or by chance we encountered a host of unforeseen problems during the restoration of our 200-year-old house

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in faced
to enter into contest or conflict with the troops encountered bands of guerrilla fighters as they made their way across the desert

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 encountered Conditions such as weather, food availability and habitat quality encountered during migration can determine whether an individual survives to breed again. — Amy L. Scarpignato, The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2026 Meanwhile, shoppers who rely on digital coupons have encountered problems accessing their usual discounts. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026 During early experiments, Google researcher Emma Rosenfeld encountered unexpected measurement results. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 15 Oct. 2026 Erica Billups said her son and daughter rode Goliath about an hour before Kariem’s death and encountered a problem with the restraint on one seat. — ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026 Previous efforts to designate new people to add to the sanctions list, which currently contains mostly gang members, has encountered resistance from China and Russia. — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 15 Oct. 2026 At one unsuitable Gramercy apartment, Taylor encountered Cam Armand, a salesperson on the Kota team at Compass, and the Folwells enlisted his help. — Joyce Cohen, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026 For inspiration, Carney looks to old films, documentaries, travel and art encountered in person rather than online. — Viv Chen, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2026 The level of danger depends on what kind of plague is encountered and whether antibiotics are available. — Claire Maldarelli, Scientific American, 7 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for encountered
  1. met
  2. found
  3. faced
  4. confronted
  5. caught
  6. greeted
Verb
  • In Oxford, Archer met Mary Weeden, a chemistry student who became his wife in 1966.
    — The Week UK, TheWeek, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Fewer than half of students met or exceeded state standards in English language arts and math, and many Sacramento-area schools were no exception.
    — Chaewon Chung October 17, Sacbee.com, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of met
Verb
  • The sisters also founded fashion accessories label Dannijo in 2008, expanding into sports with DannijoPro.
    — Ryma Chikhoune, Footwear News, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Trump posted a video Thursday night that directly called El-Sayed a member of the group, which was founded in Egypt; his administration has designated chapters as terrorist organizations.
    — Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of found
Verb
  • In the years since his cancer diagnosis, King Charles has faced even more devastating health news.
    — Allison DeGrushe, StyleCaster, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Commercial flights are still operating in Saudi Arabia, though service has faced major disruptions at times.
    — Kelly McGreal, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of faced
Verb
  • Shea’s supervisor confronted her when Shea’s findings in a cold case could not be replicated.
    — Julia Coin, Charlotte Observer, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Police learned that the father of one of the children involved went to an apartment and confronted a woman there.
    — Paula Wethington, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of confronted
Verb
  • The initial patient — a Kenyan citizen — caught the deadly virus while living in Congo and died earlier this month.
    — O. Rose Broderick, STAT, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Cooks played nearly every snap after Samuel departed and caught a touchdown on a target inside the 10-yard line.
    — Dalton Del Don, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of caught
Verb
  • The horrors at Requiem Haunted House, the largest indoor scare attraction in the Treasure Valley, begin as soon as you’re greeted at the door.
    — Hali Smith October 17, Idaho Statesman, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The pope then walked outside greeted and waved at the crowd and shook hands of hospital staff lined up by car to see him off.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of greeted

Browse Nearby Words

encounter
encountered
encountering
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Encountered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/encountered. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All