What does "rencounter" mean?

An encounter between opposing forces; a conflict.

What is a synonym for "rencounter"?

Common synonyms include: action, bout, collision course, competition, concours, conflict.

Pronounced //ɹɛnˈkaʊntə//.

//ɹɛnˈkaʊntə// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
An encounter between opposing forces; a conflict. archaic
"Mr Nightingale promised to enquire into the state of Mr Fitzpatrick's wound, and likewise to find out some of the persons who were present at the rencounter."
2
An encounter or chance meeting. archaic
"The Prior at length […] rode off with considerably less pomp, and in a much more apostolical condition, so far as worldly matters were concerned, than he had exhibited before this rencounter."

Verb

1
To meet, encounter, come into contact with. archaic, transitive
2
To attack hand to hand. obsolete
"Tho, whenas still he saw him towards pace, He gan rencounter him in equall race"

"Tho, whenas still he saw him towards pace, He gan rencounter him in equall race"

Etymology 1

From Middle English rencounteren, rencountren, from Middle French rencontrer, corresponding to re- + encounter.

Etymology 2

From Middle English rencountre, from the verb, after Middle French rencontre, corresponding to re- + encounter.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.