1
as in circling
to travel completely around
communication satellites encircling the earth
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in encompassing
to form a circle around
immediately after announcing their engagement, the couple was encircled by their applauding friends
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in surrounding
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of encircling
Charlie Campbell, Time, 23 Oct. 2025
The vents encircling the stand’s rounded top handle cooling.
—PC Magazine, 15 Oct. 2025
By the early 19th century, scientists had begun to recognize a belt of volcanic activity encircling the Pacific Ocean.
—Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
Haas, an Austrian sage of microtonal music, has created his own sonic forest in the Park Avenue Armory’s Drill Hall, encircling the audience with 50 pianos (each of which has about 230 strings) and a chamber ensemble (Klangforum Wien) that included a contingent of thunderous percussion.
—Justin Davidson, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2025
The designs feature a star with water and green hills; a whale in water with a white bird underneath; and three turkey feathers encircling a chickadee.
—Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald, 25 Sep. 2025
No other spacecraft has probed beneath the clouds encircling Jupiter the way that Juno has, or has imaged our Solar System’s largest planet so comprehensively and over such extended periods of time.
—Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 3 Sep. 2025
Nonetheless, its economy has largely adapted to Western sanctions, and Russian forces are advancing in the Donbas, now encircling the city of Pokrovsk and steadily advancing toward Kostyantynivka.
—Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2025
Russia is close to encircling two key Donetsk towns, Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka, and may effectively put Ukrainian troops defending these two hubs under siege in the coming weeks.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 9 Aug. 2025
Adjective
There is a lot of red—99 naval and coast guard vessels, to be precise, completely encircling Taiwan during PLA exercises last December.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 23 Oct. 2025
The vents encircling the stand’s rounded top handle cooling.
—PC Magazine, 15 Oct. 2025
By the early 19th century, scientists had begun to recognize a belt of volcanic activity encircling the Pacific Ocean.
—Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
Haas, an Austrian sage of microtonal music, has created his own sonic forest in the Park Avenue Armory’s Drill Hall, encircling the audience with 50 pianos (each of which has about 230 strings) and a chamber ensemble (Klangforum Wien) that included a contingent of thunderous percussion.
—Justin Davidson, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2025
The designs feature a star with water and green hills; a whale in water with a white bird underneath; and three turkey feathers encircling a chickadee.
—Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald, 25 Sep. 2025
No other spacecraft has probed beneath the clouds encircling Jupiter the way that Juno has, or has imaged our Solar System’s largest planet so comprehensively and over such extended periods of time.
—Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 3 Sep. 2025
Nonetheless, its economy has largely adapted to Western sanctions, and Russian forces are advancing in the Donbas, now encircling the city of Pokrovsk and steadily advancing toward Kostyantynivka.
—Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2025
Russia is close to encircling two key Donetsk towns, Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka, and may effectively put Ukrainian troops defending these two hubs under siege in the coming weeks.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 9 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for encircling
Verb
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Before a lunar landing mission is attempted, NASA is planning to launch four astronauts on its Artemis II mission in 2026 on a 10-day mission circling the moon.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
21 Oct. 2025
-
Ellison has been circling WBD since early September, having made his intentions known about a month after the completion of the $8 billion Skydance-Paramount merger.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Sam's Throne Campground and surrounding public areas will remain closed to ensure public safety while the search and monitoring operations continue, according to the release.—
Bill Bowden,
Arkansas Online,
24 Oct. 2025
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Because of this, a close look at the play and the scholarship surrounding it can help make clear the stakes of due process.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The saints’ days are celebrated, the great days of history are celebrated, and they’re celebrated with this sort of enormous exuberance and deep investment that is somehow very, very touching, very embracing, and very inclusive.—
Terry Ward,
AFAR Media,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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More likely, the European Space Agency's Gaia astrometric mission may have been able to detect a wobble in the motion of the white dwarf on the sky caused by the gravity of orbiting gas giant planets pulling on it.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
24 Oct. 2025
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While most satellite internet services operate from single geostationary satellites orbiting Earth at about 22,236 miles, Starlink is a constellation of thousands of satellites that operate from a low-Earth orbit, about 341 miles up.—
Eric Lagatta,
AZCentral.com,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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So mature, his conviction, his instincts, his fearlessness, and to give something which is so different yet so connecting.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
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For astronauts belonging to the European Space Agency, traversing underground caves can be a helpful simulation for the challenges of space exploration.—
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry,
Space.com,
14 Oct. 2025
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The obliteration of both Iran’s nuclear facilities and the foreign terrorist cartels traversing the Gulf of America are clear evidence of the president's success.—
Brian Mast,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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From the pews, those gathered joined musicians, clapping and raising their hands in the air to begin the service.—
Clara Hendrickson,
Freep.com,
22 Oct. 2025
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So Garcia re-joined in tricky circumstances, and with a lot of expectation on his shoulders.—
Pol Ballús,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Why is my child so attached to me?—
Madeline Mitchell,
USA Today,
22 Oct. 2025
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For pre-lit trees with a single lighting style, there is an attached foot pedal to turn the lights on and off.—
Audrey Lee,
Architectural Digest,
20 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Encircling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/encircling. Accessed 27 Oct. 2025.
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