all-embracing

adjective

all-em·​brac·​ing ˌȯ-lim-ˈbrā-siŋ How to pronounce all-embracing (audio)
: complete, sweeping
an all-embracing theory

Examples of all-embracing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In some ways, JavaScript is the people’s programming language: egoless and all-embracing. Sheon Han, WIRED, 4 Mar. 2024 Then as now, his view of music was an all-embracing one that knew no stylistic boundaries. George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Jan. 2024 Imagine a literary world without public libraries, without a New York Public Library or a Library of Congress as all-embracing book collections, in which the sole arbiters of what’s kept and what’s pulped are the publishers themselves—or the conglomerates that take them over. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 27 June 2023 The theme of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, ‘United by Music,’ announced both the annual musical extravaganza’s all-embracing intentions and its status as a joint endeavor. Mike McCahill, Variety, 14 May 2023 But if life with father was so all-embracing, why then did Daisy Dawes need to tote a gun, or for that matter come here to Eloise’s Night Light to drink, dialogue, and make merry, or meditate three times a week? Anne Fadiman, Harper’s Magazine , 17 Feb. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'all-embracing.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1600, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of all-embracing was circa 1600

Dictionary Entries Near all-embracing

Cite this Entry

“All-embracing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/all-embracing. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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