Encounter vs Observe - What's the difference?
encounter | observe |
To meet (someone) or find (something) unexpectedly.
To confront (someone or something) face to face.
(ambitransitive) To engage in conflict, as with an enemy.
* Shakespeare
An unplanned or unexpected meeting.
:
*
*:That was Selwyn's first encounter with the Ruthvens. A short time afterward at the opera Gerald dragged him into a parterre to say something amiable to one of the amiable débutante Craig girls—and Selwyn found himself again facing Alixe.
A hostile meeting; a confrontation or skirmish.
A sudden, often violent clash, as between combatants.
(label) A match between two opposing sides.
*{{quote-news, year=2011, date=October 29, author=Phil McNulty, work=BBC Sport
, title= (lb) To notice or view, especially carefully or with attention to detail.
:
*1892 , (Arthur Conan Doyle),
*:“One horse?” interjected Holmes. ¶ “Yes, only one.” ¶ “Did you observe the colour?”
*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-03, author=Frank Fish, George Lauder
, volume=101, issue=2, page=114, magazine=(American Scientist)
, title= (lb) To follow or obey the custom, practice, or rules (especially of a religion).
:
*Bible, (w)
*:Ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread.
*{{quote-news, year=2011, date=November 10, author=Jeremy Wilson, work=Telegraph
, title= (lb) To comment on something; to make an observation.
:
*
*:Elbows almost touching they leaned at ease, idly reading the almost obliterated lines engraved there. ¶ ("I never) understood it," she observed , lightly scornful. "What occult meaning has a sun-dial for the spooney? I'm sure I don't want to read riddles in a strange gentleman's optics."
As verbs the difference between encounter and observe
is that encounter is to meet (someone) or find (something) unexpectedly while observe is .As a noun encounter
is an unplanned or unexpected meeting.encounter
English
Alternative forms
* (l) (obsolete) * incounter (archaic) * incountre (obsolete)Verb
(en verb)- Three armies encountered at Waterloo.
- I will encounter with Andronicus.
Noun
(en noun)Chelsea 3-5 Arsenal, passage=Andre Santos equalised and the outstanding Theo Walcott put Arsenal ahead for the first time before Juan Mata's spectacular strike set up the finale for an enthralling encounter .}}
Synonyms
* (unplanned meeting ): * (hostile meeting ): clash, confrontation, brush, skirmishDerived terms
* close encounter * encounter groupobserve
English
Verb
(observ)Not Just Going with the Flow, passage=An extreme version of vorticity is a vortex . The vortex is a spinning, cyclonic mass of fluid, which can be observed in the rotation of water going down a drain, as well as in smoke rings, tornados and hurricanes.}}
England Under 21 5 Iceland Under 21 0: match report, passage=A sell-out crowd of 10,000 then observed perfectly a period of silence before the team revealed their black armbands, complete with stitched-in poppies, for the match. After Fifa’s about-turn, it must have been a frantic few days for the England kit manufacturer. The on-field challenge was altogether more straightforward. }}