1
as in fulfilling
to carry through (as a process) to completion
attempting more than his modest abilities could compass
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in circling
to travel completely around
the great age of exploration, when ships of sail compassed the earth
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in plotting
to engage in a secret plan to accomplish evil or unlawful ends
the rebels are compassing the assassination of the king
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in surrounding
to form a circle around
a mysterious isle, compassed by treacherous seas
Synonyms & Similar Words
5
as in understanding
to have a clear idea of
the concept that the earth is billions of years old is one that the average mind struggles to compass
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for compassing
Verb
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Randhawa began fulfilling orders herself, sourcing ingredients from local stores and handing off jars in Manhattan parks during her lunch break.—
Peter Burke,
FOXNews.com,
11 Apr. 2026 -
These plays, Towns says, are just as important, just as fulfilling to his game as putting 30 points or 20 rebounds on the board.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Officers flooded the area Wednesday night, with patrol cars lining the roadways and a police helicopter circling the park overhead.—
Naveen Dhaliwal,
CBS News,
16 Apr. 2026
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But David Kelley was also circling it.—
Jennifer Wilson,
New Yorker,
12 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Orbán also leaves behind a fiscal mess, which the analyst Dalibor Rohac suggests Orbán might be happy to abandon while plotting his comeback.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
13 Apr. 2026
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Writing the book was a delight, from research to character development to plotting to drafting.—
Lee Kelly,
PEOPLE,
12 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Carr expanded the unit last year to include additional prosecutors and investigators serving Augusta and surrounding counties, part of a broader push to target trafficking networks statewide.—
Zachary Bynum,
CBS News,
14 Apr. 2026
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Below in the courtyard where the big choppers had been loading, the headlights from the cars and trucks surrounding the parking lot were still on to light the way for the choppers.—
Louis Menand,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In the end, the deepest release isn’t about getting a medical tag, but rather about understanding why those unrelenting obstacles continued to exist.—
Lucy Jones
April 11,
Miami Herald,
11 Apr. 2026
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That design, which is unlike anything else in the economy, makes the gas-price sign a kind of key to understanding American life.—
Ian Bogost,
The Atlantic,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Best of luck accomplishing your goals today and, of course, do keep in touch.—
Ed Silverman,
STAT,
6 Apr. 2026
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Roxanne Perez, Charlotte Flair and Shayna Baszler each accomplishing the feat.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Soon, Callaghan — alongside Nic Mosher and Evan Gilbert-Katz — was traversing the country in a shabby RV, documenting the surreal, perturbing and often hilarious fringes of American culture.—
Kevin Dolak,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Apr. 2026
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Imagine in the small areas of our nervous system, 84 billion cells, each connecting with thousands of others, some traversing these long areas across our brain, crossing over down to the spinal cord, and reaching its appropriate target.—
Marcy Thompson,
Scientific American,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
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If your houseplant was severely pot-bound with encircling roots, trim the overgrown roots back by one-third.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
12 Apr. 2026
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In recent years, Beijing has stepped up military drills near Taiwan, even encircling the island by land, air and sea last year.—
Ashish Valentine,
NPR,
7 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Compassing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/compassing. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
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