ACCOSTING Synonyms: 41 Similar and Opposite Words

accosting

verb

present participle of accost

as in approaching

to approach and speak to (someone) often in an angry, aggressive, or unwanted way He was accosted by peddlers selling touristy trinkets on the street. She was so famous that people would accost her on the street and ask for an autograph.

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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 accosting Jenkinson also faces a second charge of accosting a different man in the same location the day prior. — Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 29 July 2026 Court records show that 60-year-old Bradley Kyle Martin, of Dearborn Heights, is charged with using a computer or internet to communicate with another person to commit a crime and accosting children for immoral purposes. — Dejanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 25 June 2026 First accosting Zeke in the Ponderosa parking lot with a completely unsolicited offer of mentorship, George seems determined, for no apparent reason, to mold the young man in his image. — Guy Lodge, Variety, 19 June 2026 Fallon quipped that White must not be able to leave the house for fear of actors accosting him asking to be on the show. — Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 26 Feb. 2026 Maybe the white-haired woman in the Phillies hoodie has done something more egregious than being outhustled for a home run ball in the stands at LoanDepot Park in Miami, and then accosting the dad who retrieved it and gave it to his son for the kid's birthday. — Neal Rubin, Freep.com, 10 Sep. 2025 The trailer features minimal dialogue, and Farrell, 49, is seen running through the streets and accosting casino employees at one point. — Jack Smart, People.com, 19 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for accosting

Verb

The bottom line is that GPC has done a good job of bottoming this year, forming a bullish pattern, outperforming its major peers, and approaching a potential breakout from a multi-year relative downtrend versus XLY.

— Frank Cappelleri, CNBC, 26 Aug. 2026
Surveillance video from the Cedar Glenn complex showed Brunson, Newman, and another unnamed co-defendant jumping a fence, approaching a Chevrolet Suburban, and fleeing after being confronted by a witness.

— Ana Maria Soler, CBS News, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of approaching

Verb

Blanche is also confronting growing distrust of the Justice Department among judges, who in multiple cases have accused government lawyers of withholding information or misleading courts.

— Alanna Durkin Richer, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026
Trump may not be interested in confronting Xi, after spending so much of his first year in office in a trade war with China.

— Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of confronting

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“Accosting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/accosting. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of accosting

verb

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