contend vs encounter

contend

verb
  • To be in opposition; to contest; to dispute; to vie; to quarrel; to fight. 

  • To be in debate; to engage in discussion; to dispute; to argue. 

  • To believe (something is reasonable) and argue (for it); to advocate. 

  • To struggle or exert oneself to obtain or retain possession of, or to defend. 

  • contend with: To try to cope with a difficulty or problem. 

encounter

verb
  • To engage in conflict, as with an enemy. 

  • To execute someone extrajudicially. 

  • To meet (someone) or find (something), especially unexpectedly. 

  • To confront (someone or something) face to face. 

noun
  • A sexual encounter; sexual activity, especially unplanned or unexpected, between people not in a sexual relationship, that usually does not lead to the establishment of a relationship, and may or may not happen again. A sexual encounter could be consensual or non-consensual; in the latter case, it is a sexual assault. A consensual sexual encounter that happens only once is commonly known as a one-night stand. 

  • A hostile, often violent meeting; a confrontation, skirmish, or clash, as between combatants. 

  • A meeting, especially one that is unplanned or unexpected. 

  • A match between two opposing sides. 

  • An extrajudicial killing or execution. 

How often have the words contend and encounter occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )