encounter
encountered; encounters; encountering
If you run into that cute guy (or girl) from the local deli when you’re at the grocery store and you stop to chat, you’ve just had an encounter, which is a casual meeting, often resulting by chance.
When you encounter the word encounter, context will tell you if it’s acting as a verb or a noun. The sentence “When Spencer and Susanna encounter a bear on the trail, they stand very still” illustrates the verb form. “The encounter in the subway left her wishing she had stayed at home” shows the noun form. Whether acting as a verb or a noun, the word carries the connotation of “chance meeting." You don’t plan an encounter; it just happens.
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come together
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synonyms:
come across, meet, run across, run into, see
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assemble, foregather, forgather, gather, meet
collect in one place
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assemble, foregather, forgather, gather, meet
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come upon, as if by accident; meet with
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be beset by
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experience as a reaction
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type of:
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experience, have
undergo
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experience, have
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a casual or unexpected convergence“there was a brief encounter in the hallway”
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synonyms:
meeting
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types:
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alignment, conjunction
(astronomy) apparent meeting or passing of two or more celestial bodies in the same degree of the zodiac
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inferior conjunction
(astronomy) the alignment of the Earth and a planet on the same side of the sun
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superior conjunction
(astronomy) the alignment of the Earth and a planet on the opposite side of the sun
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type of:
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convergence
the occurrence of two or more things coming together
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alignment, conjunction
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a casual meeting with a person or thing
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synonyms:
coming upon
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type of:
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connection, connexion, joining
the act of bringing two things into contact (especially for communication)
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connection, connexion, joining
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contend against an opponent in a sport, game, or battle
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play
participate in games or sport
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play
employ in a game or in a specific position
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play
use or move
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play
shoot or hit in a particular manner
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types:
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confront, face
oppose, as in hostility or a competition
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replay
repeat a game against the same opponent
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breast, front
confront bodily
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take the bull by the horns
face a difficulty and grapple with it without avoiding it
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match, oppose, pit, play off
set into opposition or rivalry
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play
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a minor short-term fight
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a hostile disagreement face-to-face
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synonyms:
confrontation, face-off, showdown
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type of:
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disagreement
the speech act of disagreeing or arguing or disputing
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disagreement
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