encyclopedic

American  

[en-sahy-kluh-pee-dik] / ɛnˌsaɪ kləˈpi dɪk /

Also encyclopedical, or encyclopaedic

adjective

1. pertaining to or of the nature of an encyclopedia; relating to all branches of knowledge.

2. comprehending a wide variety of information; comprehensive.

   an encyclopedic memory.

   Synonyms:

   wide-ranging, exhaustive, all-inclusive, all-embracing

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encyclopedic British  

/ ɛnˌsaɪkləʊˈpiːdɪk /

adjective

1. of, characteristic of, or relating to an encyclopedia

2. covering a wide range of knowledge; comprehensive

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Other Word Forms

• encyclopaedically adverb
• encyclopedically adverb
• nonencyclopaedic adjective
• nonencyclopedic adjective
• nonencyclopedical adjective

Etymology

Origin of encyclopedic

First recorded in 1815–25; encycloped(ia) + -ic

Example Sentences

Rubin’s skills, former colleagues say, included an encyclopedic recall, the ability to explain his bets in plain English and a high threshold for risk.

From The Wall Street Journal

She was hired as the first curator exclusively devoted to such art in any encyclopedic American museum in 2001, a year after the DIA created a Center for African American Art.

From The Wall Street Journal

In some ways, we see, early national museums anticipated fairs’ encyclopedic ambitions.

From The Wall Street Journal

The noted Roman naturalist and historian was indeed an early expert in fermentation, yet he also wrote about “sal ammoniac” — yes, smelling salts — in his encyclopedic work “Natural History,” published in 79 A.D.

From Los Angeles Times

The drawings inject suspense even into Melville’s encyclopedic chapters on cetacean anatomy.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• exhaustive
• extensive
• thorough
• vast
• wide-ranging