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encompass

[en-kuhm-puh s]
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verb (used with object)
  1. to form a circle about; encircle; surround: He built a moat to encompass the castle.
  2. to enclose; envelop: The folds of a great cloak encompassed her person.
  3. to include comprehensively: a work that encompasses the entire range of the world's religious beliefs.
  4. Obsolete. to outwit.
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Origin of encompass

First recorded in 1545–55; en-1 + compass
Related formsen·com·pass·ment, nounun·en·com·passed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

involvement, incorporation, formation, admittance, creation, success, effort, accomplishment, attainment, victory, realization, performance, deed, feat, triumph, personification, archetype, symbol, apotheosis, exemplar

Examples from the Web for encompassment

Historical Examples

  • But her encompassment, as is so apt to be the case here, was pitiably mediocre.

    The Adventures of a Widow

    Edgar Fawcett

  • But mystery I then accepted as the only complement, the encompassment, of what we know of our life.

    Heart of Man

    George Edward Woodberry

British Dictionary definitions for encompassment

encompass

verb (tr)
  1. to enclose within a circle; surround
  2. to bring about; cause to happen; contrivehe encompassed the enemy's ruin
  3. to include entirely or comprehensivelythis book encompasses the whole range of knowledge
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Derived Formsencompassment, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for encompassment

encompass

v.

1550s, from en- (1) "make, put in" + compass. Related: Encompassed; encompasses; encompassing.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper