envelop
Americanverb (used with object)
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to wrap up in or as in a covering.
The long cloak she was wearing enveloped her completely.
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to serve as a wrapping or covering for, as a membrane of an organ or a sheath.
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to surround entirely.
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Military. to attack (an enemy's flank).
noun
verb
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to wrap or enclose in or as if in a covering
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to conceal or obscure, as from sight or understanding
a plan enveloped in mystery
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to surround or partially surround (an enemy force)
Other Word Forms
- enveloper noun
- envelopment noun
- preenvelop verb (used with object)
- unenveloped adjective
Etymology
Origin of envelop
1350–1400; Middle English envolupen < Old French envoluper, equivalent to en- en- 1 + voloper to envelop, of obscure origin; compare Old Provençal ( en ) volopar, Italian inviluppare to envelop, Italian viluppo tuft, bundle, confusion, referred to Medieval Latin faluppa chaff, wisp of straw, perhaps influenced by the descendants of Latin volvere to roll
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.
He hugged his family and promised, silently, that he would envelop them in love his entire life.
From Literature
I sat frozen, unsure what to do, enveloped in the sweaty aura of the man slumped on my shoulder, drooling out of the corner of his mouth.
From Literature
A timeline of key developments in the succession drama that has enveloped Disney in recent years.
From Los Angeles Times
A few hundred yards back, Sue had run to Bruce as the cloud enveloped them.
From Literature
Christopher didn’t stop to let himself think; if he stopped to think, the madness and impossibility of it would envelop him.
From Literature
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.
