meet、encounter、confront、face与contact这些动词均有“遇见、会见、碰见”之意。
meet : 普通用词，本义指双方或多方从不同方向或相反方向作向对运动，最终相碰（遇）。
- They met at work.
他们是在工作时认识的。 - I met her in Hawaii.
我在夏威夷认识了她。
encounter : 通常指遇到困难或挫折，也指偶然或意外地相遇。
- I had an alarming encounter with a wild pig.
我曾经意外地碰到过一头野猪，真是惊险。 - This meeting will be the first encounter between the party leaders since the election.
这是自大选以来两党领导人首次狭路相逢。
confront : 不可避免的，面对面的相遇。也指敢于正视困难或问题的决心和信心。
- As she left the court, she was confronted by angry crowds who tried to block her way.
她离开法庭时，愤怒的人群试图拦住她的去路。 - It's an issue we'll have to confront at some point, no matter how unpleasant it is.
不管它有多讨厌，我们终究要面对这个问题。
face : 侧重双方静止地面对面，或指指充满勇气、信心和决心正视人或事。
- This is one of the many problems faced by working mothers.
这是身为职业妇女的母亲们面临的众多难题之一。 - Passengers could face long delays.
旅客可能会长时间滞留。
contact : 多指通过书信、电话或直接会面和别人联系。口语用词。
- I tried to contact him at his office, but he wasn't in.
我试着给他的办公室打电话，但是他不在。 - Unless the money is paid, we will be contacting our legal department.
如果不付款，我们马上就和法律部门联系。
