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

“It was an encapsulation of his whole program,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 7, 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

For a few minutes on Sunday afternoon, Wimbledon's Centre Court became the perfect encapsulation of the current tensions between humans and machines.

From BBC • Jul. 7, 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

This also requires an environment that is simple enough and displays enough order, to make this encapsulation possible over some dimensions of time and space.

From Definition & Reality in the General Theory of Political Economy by Colignatus, Thomas