Thesaurus results for ENCROACHED

encroached

verb

past tense of encroach

as in crept

to advance gradually beyond the usual or desirable limits each year the sea continues to encroach upon the island's beaches

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of encroached In what his dad (Ed Harris) calls the decline of humanity, the club is being encroached on by pickleballers clamoring for more courts. — Christine Ledbetter, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026 But the somatosensory cortex, the touch cortex, has like encroached upon it. — Quanta Magazine, 6 Aug. 2026 But the judges who dissented agreed with advocates who have argued that the law was vague and encroached on their First Amendment rights. — Miami Herald, 5 Aug. 2026 Stark said developers have encroached on her community in Chandler. — Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com, 21 July 2026 Lawyers for both YouTube and Meta also consistently posed questions throughout the trial about whether the evidence and arguments encroached on legal protections for tech companies around content posted by third parties. — Kaitlyn Huamani, Fortune, 15 July 2026 Ditching a 90-year-old decision, the court said restrictions Congress placed on a president’s ability to remove members of independent agencies like the Federal Trade Commission encroached on presidential power. — Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 1 July 2026 Dominik Livakovic saved Harry Kane’s first attempt, but a retake was ordered because the goalkeeper had moved off his line and defender Josko Gvardiol had encroached into the area early before clearing the rebound. — Amelie Claydon, New York Times, 28 June 2026 Kenya has experienced incidents of land grabbing in the past, and environmentalists have often spoken out when parks and other green spaces are encroached upon. — ABC News, 8 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for encroached

Verb

With a practice script in hand, Shanahan has crept closer to some offensive drills.

— Cam Inman, Mercury News, 6 Aug. 2026
As the population grew, and construction and pollution crept closer to water sources, many springs have since dried up or receded to thin trickles.

— Umar Farooq, Christian Science Monitor, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of crept

Verb

Here, too, there were echoes of Keegan’s blissful early days, when queues snaked outside the stadium hours before kick-off and every victory felt like alchemy.

— George Caulkin, New York Times, 30 July 2026
At the bus stop, there was a queue of chartered double-decker buses and a vast crowd, mostly men in blue business suits, snaked four times around the car park, waiting to board the vehicles.

— David Szondy July 23, New Atlas, 23 July 2026

Definition of snaked

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“Encroached.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/encroached. Accessed 13 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of encroached

verb

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