encapsulate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
encapsulates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
encapsulated,
past participle, past
-
encapsulating
present participle
-
to place in or as if in a capsule.
-
to summarize or condense.
verb (used without object)
-
encapsulates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
encapsulated,
past participle, past
-
encapsulating
present participle
verb
-
to enclose or be enclosed in or as if in a capsule
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(tr) to sum up in a short or concise form; condense; abridge
Usage
What does encapsulate mean? To encapsulate figuratively means to summarize or condense, as in Rhia encapsulated the three-hour lecture into a 20-minute video. When you encapsulate something, you can still see the clear vision of what is being summarized but in a shorter time or with less effort. Movie trailers should encapsulate the movie (without giving away the ending, thank you very much). And when you use multiple skills to create something, such as a product, you could that product encapsulates your talents. To encapsulate literally means to place in a capsule or as if in a capsule, such as a dose of medicine placed inside a gelatinous case. Example: This interview really encapsulates the feelings that most of our patients have toward the new treatment.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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encapsulatesimple
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encapsulatessimple
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have encapsulatedperfect
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has encapsulatedperfect
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am encapsulatingprogressive
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are encapsulatingprogressive
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is encapsulatingprogressive
-
have been encapsulatingperfect progressive
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has been encapsulatingperfect progressive
Past
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encapsulatedsimple
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had encapsulatedperfect
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was encapsulatingprogressive
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were encapsulatingprogressive
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had been encapsulatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of encapsulate
Explanation
To encapsulate something is to sum it up in shorter form — to summarize something. When you see the word encapsulate, think about trying to put your comic book collection inside one tiny capsule — all of them wouldn't fit, so you'd have to pick out just your favorites or the most valuable ones. Encapsulating means condensing something down into its most important parts, so you just get the gist of it. Cliff's Notes encapsulate longer books. If you tell a friend about your summer vacation, you better encapsulate it or you'll be there for hours.
Vocabulary lists containing encapsulate
Every Day
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Mandela's Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Address
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Robin Williams (1951-2014) Tribute List
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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.
See Examples For:
How do you choose just 30 artifacts from millions to encapsulate 250 years of American history?
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
Below are five bits that encapsulate his run as one of late-night’s most self-deprecating hosts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
Either in the colours of Manchester United or Northern Ireland, the highlights of his career encapsulate why many who saw him still argue he was the best player ever.
From BBC ● May 19, 2026
Because there were so many novels, the first of which published in 1990, Sarnoff wanted to find a way to encapsulate the 1990s timelines from the early books alongside the more contemporary ones.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 11, 2026
I suddenly realize why people believe in déjà vu, why people believe they’ve lived past lives, because there is no way the years I’ve spent on this earth could possibly encapsulate what I’m feeling.
From "Every Day" by David Levithan
Viv Groskop, a stand-up comedian, writer and public speaking coach advises picking a word that encapsulates what you want your speech to convey.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
It’s so funny and really encapsulates the messy truth and real absurdity of loss.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
“It really encapsulates everything,” said Craig Copeland, director of wealth research at EBRI, who wrote the report.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
"Space control encapsulates the mission areas required to contest and control the space domain -- employing kinetic and non-kinetic means to affect adversary capabilities," the statement said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
Its outer walls are made entirely of rounded glass, but a circular tube of dark metal encapsulates the glass walls.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
Their antibody responses to herpesviruses and autoantigens increased, while responses to encapsulated pathogens declined.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026
The Giants’ 34-27 defeat perfectly encapsulated why NFL games now take so long.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
That sentence perfectly encapsulated Freedom to Marry’s “road map to victory” strategy, which had aimed at changing hearts and minds in order to deliver the change in law and politics needed.
From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2026
Yet it encapsulated what supporting this England team was about.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
Pacific Island history is encapsulated for me in an incident that happened when three Indonesian friends and I walked into a store in Jayapura, the capital of Indonesian New Guinea.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Enjoy 1979 Wimbledon semi-finalist Tracy Austin encapsulating "the sense of history" that comes with playing on Centre Court as part of the last four at SW19.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
Tesla, a notoriously volatile stock, has moved an average of about 6% up or down the week encapsulating the prior four quarterly reports, in line with history.
From Barron's ● Jan. 26, 2026
"From our study, no significant limitations have been identified. Moreover, we are currently working on encapsulating a water-alcohol extract with a much higher concentration of biologically active substances."
From Science Daily ● Jan. 17, 2026
YouTube – once known as a place for amateur user-generated videos has become an entertainment powerhouse, encapsulating the largest percentage of streaming on U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 2025
One argument, "Don't programmers deserve a reward for their creativity," earned a response encapsulating Stallman's anger over the recent Gosling Emacs episode: "If anything deserves a reward, it is social contribution," Stallman wrote.
From Free as in Freedom: Richard Stallman's Crusade for Free Software by Sam Williams
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
