The Meaning of Encompass: What It Is and How To Use It

Do you know the definition of encompass? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on the word encompass, including its definition, etymology, usage, example sentences, and more!

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What does the word encompass mean?

According to Collins English Dictionary and the American Heritage Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, the word encompass is a verb that means to encircle or have as one’s sphere or territory. This can be used literally or figuratively. One could encompass an enemy’s ruin, a whole range of knowledge, the entire range of the world, English grammar can encompass regular and irregular verbs, a highway can encompass multiple lanes, a moat can encompass a castle, a connect user group community can encompass technical information exchange, the business customers of Hewlett-Packard encompass board-wide ages, races and genders, a form of artistic expression encompasses painting and sculpture, and more.

Many different languages also contain words that mean encompass. You may notice that some of these translations of encompass look and sound similar to the word encompass. These are called cognates, which are words and phrases that look, sound, and eman something slimalir while they are words of different languages. These are often formed when two words have the same root or language of origin. This list of translations of the word encompass is provided by Word Sense.

  •  Greek: περικλείω‎, περιβάλλω‎
  •  Kurdish: dorpêç kirin‎
  •  Bokmål: omfatte‎
  •  Old English: bebūgan‎
  •  Nynorsk: omfatta‎
  •  Mandarin: 围绕‎
  •  Faroese: fevna um‎
  •  Portuguese: rodear‎, circundar‎, conter‎
  •  German: umfassen‎, enthalten‎, einschließen‎
  •  Dutch: omvatten‎
  •  Russian: охва́тывать‎, охвати́ть‎ (pf)
  •  French: entourer‎
  •  Icelandic: felast‎
  •  Italian: racchiudere‎, comprendere‎
  •  Swedish: omfatta‎
  •  Georgian: გარშემორტყმა‎
  •  Finnish: ympäröidä‎, sisältää‎
  •  Spanish: rodear‎, circundar‎
  •  Bulgarian: обхващам‎, заобикалям‎

What are synonyms and antonyms of encompass?

There are many different words that a person can use in place of the word encompass. These words with the same definition as the word encompass are called synonyms. Learning synonyms is a great way to expand your vocabulary, as well as to avoid repeating yourself in spoken and written English. This list of synonyms of encompass is from Power Thesaurus

  •  comprises
  •  engulf
  •  surrounding
  •  encircling
  •  girdle
  •  beset
  •  covers
  •  engirdle
  •  extend to
  •  circumfuse
  •  encircle
  •  contain
  •  circumscribe
  •  encircled
  •  enclose
  •  number among
  •  admit
  •  comprising
  •  integrate
  •  confine
  •  girded
  •  embodied
  •  wall in
  •  edge
  •  comprised
  •  build in
  •  seal off
  •  be made up of
  •  consolidate
  •  circuited
  •  involving
  •  hem in
  •  assimilate
  •  include
  •  have
  •  involved
  •  comprise
  •  enring
  •  surround
  •  hem
  •  inclose
  •  consist of
  •  number
  •  loop
  •  skirt
  •  comprehend
  •  covered
  •  subsume
  •  envelop
  •  girt
  •  gird
  •  take in
  •  surrounds
  •  hold
  •  environ
  •  mured
  •  be composed of
  •  fence
  •  count in
  •  round
  •  circle
  •  including
  •  enwrap
  •  globetrot
  •  contains
  •  cincture
  •  border
  •  begird
  •  bound
  •  embower
  •  involves
  •  enfold
  •  besiege
  •  embrace
  •  organize
  •  take into account
  •  compass
  •  corral
  •  ringing
  •  cover
  •  embodying
  •  ring
  •  beleaguer
  •  incorporate
  •  included
  •  close in
  •  engird
  •  encase
  •  entail
  •  includes
  •  hedge in
  •  involve
  •  shut in
  •  fence in
  •  gird in
  •  embody
  •  combine
  •  blocking off
  •  encompassing
  •  covering

There are also numerous different words with the opposite meaning as encompass. These are called antonyms, which are another great way to expand your English language vocabulary. These antonyms for encompass are also provided by Power Thesaurus

  •  strike out
  •  expunge
  •  omit
  •  apart
  •  leave off
  •  delete
  •  abolish
  •  bankruptcy
  •  detached
  •  attract
  •  overleap
  •  pretermit
  •  rub out
  •  free
  •  leave out
  •  drop
  •  blunder
  •  attach
  •  eliminate
  •  bar
  •  annul
  •  advertise
  •  dispense with
  •  exclude
  •  miss out
  •  fail to mention
  •  eject
  •  banish
  •  autonomous
  •  take out
  •  be exclusive of
  •  cut
  •  fail to include
  •  available
  •  not include
  •  shut out
  •  except
  •  avulse
  •  unloose
  •  not be inclusive of
  •  avoidance
  •  pass over
  •  apprehend
  •  give something a miss
  •  cross out
  •  elide
  •  absolute
  •  erase
  •  miss
  •  alienate

How can the word encompass be used in a sentence?

The word encompass can be used in many different ways in natural sounding English. Using words in a sentence is a great way to memorize their definitions. You can also try making flashcards or a quiz to test your knowledge of different words’ definitions. Try using this word of the day in a sentence today! Below are several examples of the word encompass being used in a sentence to help get your started. 

The house’s symmetrical plan encompassed many different ideas that supported the interests of the state. The different ideas covered the whole concept of equality for varying academic abilities, and they had a fruitful discussion.

The campus worship center encompassed all forms of worship and a wide range of people with different backgrounds, and shot down connotations that it was only for Christians. The users group could be used by any and all religious beliefs and had different guidebooks for over 50 religions such as the Hindu religion. 

The unique seven-word sentence encompasses the different viewpoints fro the wide age range without revealing security information. 

Hewlett-Packard’s largest user community encompassed many different users and participants like John Maynen, Drake Hall, Bill Johnson, Nina Buik, Steve Davidek, Dena Wright, Jim Becker, Anthony Ioele, Glen Kuykendall, Chris Koppe, Clyde Poole, Kristi Browder, and more. These customers of the digital equipment corporation and the HP user group and original computer user group enjoyed the technical exchange information provided by HP’s hardware. 

The former directors of the enterprise computing association created a retail website to encompass all of their merchandise at the time of the consolidation. The worldwide consumer unit brough shoppers from around the globe to the growing logistics empire.

The neighborhood encompassed suburbia and shrublands. The downside was that the federal management of the California forests was poor and the wildlife was becoming endangered. The vast scope of the extinction problem was just being revealed from the folds of a great cloak. 

Overall, the word encompass means to include, surround or encircle. This word can be used both literally and figuratively to mean to surround something, or to cover numerous topics or people. 

Sources:

  1. Encompass definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary 
  2. Encompass synonyms – 994 Words and Phrases for Encompass | Power Thesaurus 
  3. encompass: meaning, origin, translation | Word Sense 
  4. Encompass antonyms – 214 Opposites of Encompass | Power Thesaurus