Contend
Contend verb - To engage in a contest.
Encounter
Encounter verb - To enter into contest or conflict with.
Usage example: the troops encountered bands of guerrilla fighters as they made their way across the desert
Contend is a synonym for encounter in fight topic. Sometimes you can use "Contend" instead a verb "Encounter", if it concerns topics such as battle.
Nearby Words: encountered, encountering
Mutual synonyms
Related pairs
Common collocations
| character | contend character | encounter character |
| village | contend village | encounter village |
| time | contend time | encounter time |
| characters | contend characters | encounter characters |
Both words in one sentence
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Unlike most engagements with Brutes, where the player has to contend with the mooks first, in this encounter, the bodyguards form a semicircle while the Chief engages the Chieftain.
Source: Duel to the Death -
Along the way, they encounter gangs of Professional Killers, an Amazon Brigade that wants Deathstalker's head for his crimes against women and an army of zombies.Tropes: Advancing Wall of Doom: Deathstalker has to contend with one of these in a sealed tomb.
Cite this Source
Encounter and Contend. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 15, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/contend/encounter
Contend & Encounter. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/contend/encounter>.
Encounter or Contend. 2016. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/contend/encounter.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "contend" and "encounter" have occurred on timeline