encounter group
noun
: a usually unstructured group that seeks to develop the capacity of the individual to express feelings and to form emotional ties by unrestrained confrontation of individuals
Examples of encounter group in a Sentence
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In the late 1960s, Ms. Sher was divorced and broke, living in a welfare hotel in New York City with two young sons, working as a dishwasher during the day and as an encounter group leader at night.
—
Penelope Green, BostonGlobe.com, 30 May 2020
And when a scene requires more people than the cast can summon by itself — say, an encounter group — the performers enlist front-row audience members to fill in.
—Ben Brantley, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2020
In the encounter groups that took place here (and still do, in a different form, an experience to which Storr subjects himself), people were provoked, often harshly, into screaming at imaginary parents and usually ended up berating each other.
—Gal Beckerman, The New Republic, 7 May 2018
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Penelope Green, BostonGlobe.com, 30 May 2020
And when a scene requires more people than the cast can summon by itself — say, an encounter group — the performers enlist front-row audience members to fill in.
—Ben Brantley, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2020
In the encounter groups that took place here (and still do, in a different form, an experience to which Storr subjects himself), people were provoked, often harshly, into screaming at imaginary parents and usually ended up berating each other.
—Gal Beckerman, The New Republic, 7 May 2018
Cite this Entry
“Encounter group.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/encounter%20group. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
encounter group
noun
en·coun·ter group
in-ˈkau̇nt-ər, en- 
: a usually leaderless and unstructured group that seeks to develop the capacity of the individual to express feelings and to form emotional ties by unrestrained confrontation of individuals (as by physical contact, uninhibited verbalization, or nudity) compare t-group
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