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

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

Responding to criticism that the new district lumps together communities with little in common, Hickey argued that the United States itself is "a mix of different people," encompassing urban neighborhoods, affluent suburbs and rural communities.

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

Denning describes culture as encompassing values, norms, judgments, history, communities, moods, and even relationships involving power and care.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026

The southwestern region of Honam -- a traditional liberal stronghold encompassing Gwangju and the Jeolla provinces -- has long lagged behind the more industrialised southeast.

From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026

It conducts research in geology, biology, engineering and physics, the latter encompassing experiments studying dark matter, astrophysics and neutrinos.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

The ANC was a broad coalition encompassing many different tribes, but its leaders at the time were primarily Xhosa.

From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah

Related Words

• enveloping