1
as in circled
to travel completely around
communication satellites encircling the earth
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in surrounded
to form a circle around
immediately after announcing their engagement, the couple was encircled by their applauding friends
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of encircled
Wolf packs on the hunt encircled their prey—typically elk—clamping at the jugular when their target grew weary from the chase.
—
Nidhi Sharma, Popular Science, 12 Mar. 2026
There are single and double cultivars offering variations on the classic yellow center encircled by white petals.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 10 Mar. 2026
Much like snowballs are composed of clusters of snowflakes, planetesimals likely arose within the disks of dust that encircled the newborn sun from clouds of pebble-sized objects pulled together by their mutual gravitational attraction.
—Charles Q. Choi, Space.com, 26 Feb. 2026
As is tradition for royal brides, Meghan wears a Welsh gold wedding band, and around their one-year wedding anniversary in May 2019, Harry gave Meghan an eternity ring encircled in diamonds.
—Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 26 Feb. 2026
On Sunday, Mexican special forces encircled Oseguera Cervante s and captured him after a firefight on the outskirts of Tapalpa.
—ABC News, 26 Feb. 2026
Mexican ground forces encircled the area before dawn.
—Rey Covarrubias Jr, AZCentral.com, 24 Feb. 2026
Under starlight, the flames encircled Fort King.
—Literary Hub, 23 Feb. 2026
There’s real, sweat-inducing tension to scenes where Esther, alone at home with her children, is encircled and menaced by mobs of men preying on the easiest of targets.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 22 Feb. 2026
Nidhi Sharma, Popular Science, 12 Mar. 2026
There are single and double cultivars offering variations on the classic yellow center encircled by white petals.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 10 Mar. 2026
Much like snowballs are composed of clusters of snowflakes, planetesimals likely arose within the disks of dust that encircled the newborn sun from clouds of pebble-sized objects pulled together by their mutual gravitational attraction.
—Charles Q. Choi, Space.com, 26 Feb. 2026
As is tradition for royal brides, Meghan wears a Welsh gold wedding band, and around their one-year wedding anniversary in May 2019, Harry gave Meghan an eternity ring encircled in diamonds.
—Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 26 Feb. 2026
On Sunday, Mexican special forces encircled Oseguera Cervante s and captured him after a firefight on the outskirts of Tapalpa.
—ABC News, 26 Feb. 2026
Mexican ground forces encircled the area before dawn.
—Rey Covarrubias Jr, AZCentral.com, 24 Feb. 2026
Under starlight, the flames encircled Fort King.
—Literary Hub, 23 Feb. 2026
There’s real, sweat-inducing tension to scenes where Esther, alone at home with her children, is encircled and menaced by mobs of men preying on the easiest of targets.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 22 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for encircled
Verb
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On the winning play, Kastelic pounced on a loose puck next to goalie Jeremy Swayman, circled behind his net and made a long pass to the Kings’ blue line and David Pastrnak, who in turned relayed it to Charlie McAvoy for the game-winning goal.—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
11 Mar. 2026
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Houses painted in bright primary colors circled the harbor, framed by white and purple lupines.—
Gina DeCaprio Vercesi,
Travel + Leisure,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The rooms Quiet luxury is the name of the game at Amanyara and the resort consists of one-to-two bedroom pavilions and three-to-six bedroom villas, each surrounded by forest, with park or ocean views.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
14 Mar. 2026
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Otherwise, Chatham is just a crossroads surrounded by turnrows and a few swampy stands of cypress trees.—
Boyce Upholt,
New Yorker,
14 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The Boise State men’s basketball team has traversed the 2025-26 season without a true team leader, instead relying on individual nights of brilliance from one of several players to win games.—
Shaun Goodwin,
Idaho Statesman,
1 Mar. 2026
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In that same period, the total distance traversed by ships in the Arctic increased 111%.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But as the title character and a partial avatar for Williamson — who had similarly spent his own teen years dreamily pining and aspiring to be a filmmaker — Dawson was the boy-next-door pillar around which the show orbited.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Feb. 2026
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Some 350 light-years away, the V1298 Tau system features an infant sun-like star, just 23 million years old, orbited by four planets on compact orbits close to their star, and all of which are seen to transit.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
20 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Encircled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/encircled. Accessed 17 Mar. 2026.
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