Showing results for "encompassing"

• present participle of encompass.

encompassing

American  

[en-kuhm-puh-sing] / ɛnˈkʌm pə sɪŋ /

adjective

1. forming a circle around something; encircling or surrounding.

   She serves the whole Anchorage real estate market, including the encompassing communities.

2. comprehensively including, addressing, or dealing with all parts or aspects of something.

   Whether as a regular treatment or a special indulgence, your fully encompassing spa experience will leave you looking and feeling fantastic!

3. fully enclosing or enveloping something.

   As she looked out reflectively over the lake, the encompassing quiet was sliced by the shrill sound of her cell phone.

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noun

1. the act or state of surrounding, enclosing, or comprehensively including something.

   The term “diaspora” allows for the encompassing of a wider range of people and experiences than “immigrants.”

Etymology

Origin of encompassing

First recorded in 1565–75; encompass ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; encompass ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun sense

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Explanation

Something that's encompassing completely encloses or surrounds something else. An island, for example, sits in the midst of encompassing ocean waves. The adjective encompassing can describe things that literally encircle something, and also things that are so extensive that they seem to do so. For example, an encompassing history of World War II would include everything about the period, including the Holocaust. Encompassing comes from the verb encompass, "surround and hold within," or "include comprehensively," from the roots en-, "put in," and compass, "space or circumference."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

encompassing

That’s roughly 300 acres, encompassing the parking lots, the hillsides meeting the 110 Freeway, and 149 concrete planters nicknamed “martinis” for their glass-like shape.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026

The debate about the appropriateness of wearing balaclavas in public places goes wider than e-bikes, encompassing anti-social behaviour, crime and some anti-immigration protests.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

The protected area is enormous, encompassing everything we could see through our binoculars from there.

From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026

The 1858 oil painting presents a panoramic view of the Ecuadorian Andes encompassing the snow-capped volcanic peak at the top, blue glaciated ice below, and towering palm trees lower still.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

Th e sound of the chenda mushroomed over the temple, accentuating the silence of the encompassing night.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy

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Related Words

• enveloping

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