enfold
Americanverb (used with object)
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to wrap up; envelop.
to enfold someone in a cloak.
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to surround as if with folds.
He wished to enfold her in the warmth of his love. What happened is enfolded in mystery.
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to hug or clasp; embrace.
She enfolded him in her arms.
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to form into a fold or folds.
The material of the skirt had been enfolded to form a loose, graceful drape.
verb
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to cover by enclosing
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to embrace
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to form with or as with folds
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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enfoldsimple
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enfoldssimple
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have enfoldedperfect
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has enfoldedperfect
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am enfoldingprogressive
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are enfoldingprogressive
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is enfoldingprogressive
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have been enfoldingperfect progressive
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has been enfoldingperfect progressive
Past
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enfoldedsimple
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had enfoldedperfect
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was enfoldingprogressive
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were enfoldingprogressive
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had been enfoldingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of enfold
Explanation
To enfold is to wrap, envelop, or surround. You might enfold a baby in a blanket, or enfold a puppy in your arms. When you enfold something, you either wrap it in a cloth or covering, or you mimic this action literally — with your arms — or figuratively. You could say, for example, that as you walk home at sunset, the night begins to enfold your neighborhood. Or you can say that you love when your grandma enfolds you in a hug. The verb enfold combines the prefix en-, "make or put in" with fold.
Vocabulary lists containing enfold
Vocabulary from Readings 3, Unit 1
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Vocabulary from Readings 1, Unit 2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Researchers from Enfold Proactive Health Trust, a child rights charity, studied 7,064 Pocso court judgements delivered between 2016 and 2020 in three Indian states - West Bengal, Assam and Maharashtra.
From BBC • Dec. 13, 2022
Enfold Women’s ready-to-wear from Japan with a sense of relaxed simplicity.
From New York Times • Nov. 10, 2016
The complaint was lodged on Thursday night, after the envoy's wife approached the Bangalore-based non-governmental organisation, Enfold India, for help.
From BBC • Jun. 18, 2012
In fact, Let It Enfold You is so polished, both musically and lyrically that you'd think this is the fifth, not first, full-length from Senses Fail.
From Time Magazine Archive
Her tranquil eyes shall penetrate afar Through centuries, and her maternal arm Enfold the generations yet unborn; Nor she, by passing glamor nor alarm, Will from the steadfast way of life be drawn.
From The Home Book of Verse — Volume 1 by Stevenson, Burton Egbert
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
