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encounter

encounter

215 3.1
A meeting with someone or something that happens by chance
  • noun
  • /ɪnˈkaʊntər/
translation icon : encuentro
  • During my travels, I had a surprising encounter with an old friend at a coffee shop.
  • a chance encounter
  • a first encounter
  • a brief encounter

Another part of this has to do with an encounter in religion.

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Examples

  • When did you have your first encounter with Buddhism or mindfulness?

  • And your friends told me about the encounter you had with my stepson.

  • Are you paying for this encounter this evening?

  • This little encounter plus what I have planned for tonight is the first wave of my campaign.

  • Before that there was an interesting Angel encounter that Jacob had.

  • Well, like most human beings, my first encounter with animals was as a child.

  • I had an interesting encounter while mountain biking last night.

  • This is our favorite encounter that we've ever had.

  • Many reported that their first encounter with the therapist produced shame, relief, frustration, and exhaustion.

    Academic text (2015)
  • For many players, the beetle encounter is the first of several with Riven's totem animals.

    Academic text (1999)

Synonyms

sighting
vsencounter
141 4.0

A time when someone sees something rare or unexpected

involves an unexpected face-to-face or direct contact rather than only seeing
meeting
vsencounter
93 1.0

People who come together by chance

is not limited to people and also covers chance contact with things

Antonyms

39 3.7

Keeping away from something or stopping it from happening

Compounds

encounter group
  • Specialized
1 8.3

A group meeting where people honestly talk about their feelings to understand themselves and each other

How Unexpected

encounter
215 3.1
meeting
1.0

Surface Forms

encounter singular
encounters plural

Etymology

Encounter comes from old parts en- 'in' and contre 'against', from the Latin contra. So an encounter is like coming face to face or 'against' someone, which fits an unexpected meeting.