encapsulation

American  

[en-kap-suh-ley-shuhn, -syoo-] / ɛnˌkæp səˈleɪ ʃən, -syʊ- /

noun

1. the act or process of placing or containing something within or as if within a capsule.

   Abatement of lead contamination includes strategies such as paint removal and encapsulation, or permanently covering the contaminated soil.

   This software protocol is used for encapsulation of various higher-level protocols.

2. the act or process of summarizing or condensing information.

   Like a headline writer, I was looking for a brief encapsulation of certain salient facts.

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Etymology

Origin of encapsulation

encapsul(ate) ( def. ) + -ation ( def. )

Example Sentences

The result is more of a strung-out patchwork than a theatrical encapsulation of Prokofiev’s 3-act, more than 2-hour score.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 9, 2026

The deadpan exchange has ricocheted across social media as a perfect encapsulation of the odd, stiff-smiling dynamic between two politicians who recently spent months raging against each other online.

From Salon • Nov. 22, 2025

As an encapsulation of Rosalía's creative impulse, it's almost too perfect.

From BBC • Nov. 6, 2025

“We’ve never even met, but I love her—and the way we have tag-teamed this as strangers is really an encapsulation of what I love about women.”

From Slate • Dec. 5, 2024

Softening cysts, which result from the degenerative liquefaction of normal or diseased tissues, especially of tumors of different kinds, followed by the encapsulation of the fluid.

From Special Report on Diseases of Cattle by United States. Bureau of Animal Industry