envelop

[en-vel-uhp, en-vel-uhp, en-vuh-luhp, ahn-]

verb (used with object)

enveloped, enveloping 

1. to wrap up in or as in a covering.

   The long cloak she was wearing enveloped her completely.

   Synonyms: conceal, hide, cover, enfold

2. to serve as a wrapping or covering for, as a membrane of an organ or a sheath.

3. to surround entirely.

   Synonyms: enclose, encompass

4. Military.,  to attack (an enemy's flank).

noun

1. envelope.

envelop

/ ɪnˈvɛləp /

verb

1. to wrap or enclose in or as if in a covering

2. to conceal or obscure, as from sight or understanding

   a plan enveloped in mystery

3. to surround or partially surround (an enemy force)

Other Word Forms

• enveloper noun
• preenvelop verb (used with object)
• unenveloped adjective
• envelopment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of envelop¹

1350–1400; Middle English envolupen < Old French envoluper, equivalent to en- en- ¹ + voloper to envelop, of obscure origin; compare Old Provençal ( en ) volopar, Italian inviluppare to envelop, Italian viluppo tuft, bundle, confusion, referred to Medieval Latin faluppa chaff, wisp of straw, perhaps influenced by the descendants of Latin volvere to roll

Word History and Origins

Origin of envelop¹

C14: from Old French envoluper, from _en- ¹ + voluper, voloper, of obscure origin

Example Sentences

It’s a decision that was partly spiritual: when the world feels unmoored, it seemed perhaps worth remembering that our predecessors relied on the seasons as enveloping promises of change.

Read more on Salon

As the stakes get higher, the plot ripples out into larger and larger concentric circles that envelop Maggie’s life and everyone in it.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The smell was almost exactly the same — sweet, sharp, buttery — only bigger, more enveloping, as if her tray of sliders had expanded into an entire planet of dough.

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“One of the worst things is remembering when I went to pick my daughter up from the lower yard, enveloped by smoke and flames,” said Andrea Samulon, who lost her home in the fire.

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Almost immediately, though, they felt enveloped by the kindness of the community.

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Related Words

• blanket 
• drape 
• encircle 
• enclose 
• encompass 
• enfold 
• engulf 
• obscure 
• shroud 
• surround 
• swaddle 
• swathe 
• wrap