as in surrounding
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1
as in circling
to travel completely around
communication satellites encircling the earth
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in encompassing
to form a circle around
immediately after announcing their engagement, the couple was encircled by their applauding friends
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of encircling
Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 12 Apr. 2026
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
The flower has a row of large outer petals (guard petals) encircling a center of petalodes or small, narrow yellow inner petals.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 7 Apr. 2026
Our beautiful encircling topography of mountains and hills is a bowl ready-made by ancient plate tectonics to be filled with smoke and smog.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
The rooms Spread over a handful of buildings encircling the central courtyard, Aleenta Retreat's 44 rooms range from spacious deluxe rooms with lounge-y balconies to two-story residences with two bedrooms and a small private courtyard with a plunge pool.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Mar. 2026
Mercy Culture’s pastors hung a candidate’s banner behind the pulpit, endorsed politicians during Sunday services, said that people who vote for Democrats weren’t truly Christian, and described Kamala Harris as a demonic Jezebel taking the form of a snake encircling the White House.
—Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 15 Mar. 2026
Soon, that quarter-mile area encircling the Rockridge BART Station may be forced to welcome apartment complexes as tall as 75 feet, or roughly seven stories — more than double the 35-foot limit that the city currently allows.
—Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 10 Mar. 2026
The sprawling Discover campus features a complex of four buildings encircling a large retention pond.
—Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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
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
The flower has a row of large outer petals (guard petals) encircling a center of petalodes or small, narrow yellow inner petals.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 7 Apr. 2026
Our beautiful encircling topography of mountains and hills is a bowl ready-made by ancient plate tectonics to be filled with smoke and smog.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
The rooms Spread over a handful of buildings encircling the central courtyard, Aleenta Retreat's 44 rooms range from spacious deluxe rooms with lounge-y balconies to two-story residences with two bedrooms and a small private courtyard with a plunge pool.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Mar. 2026
Mercy Culture’s pastors hung a candidate’s banner behind the pulpit, endorsed politicians during Sunday services, said that people who vote for Democrats weren’t truly Christian, and described Kamala Harris as a demonic Jezebel taking the form of a snake encircling the White House.
—Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 15 Mar. 2026
Soon, that quarter-mile area encircling the Rockridge BART Station may be forced to welcome apartment complexes as tall as 75 feet, or roughly seven stories — more than double the 35-foot limit that the city currently allows.
—Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 10 Mar. 2026
The sprawling Discover campus features a complex of four buildings encircling a large retention pond.
—Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 5 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for encircling
Adjective
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Since then, the bustling market serves the surrounding and significant Latino community and others.—
Susan Selasky,
Freep.com,
26 Sep. 2025
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
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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The plan, released on April 14, orders NASA, the Pentagon and the Department of Energy to ready a moon-orbiting nuclear power system for launch as soon as 2028.—
Claire Cameron,
Scientific American,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Physicists at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics used muonic hydrogen, replacing the electron orbiting the nucleus with a muon, the electron’s heavier (and very short-lived) sibling.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
14 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Znotins acknowledges that the airline makes prices for those non-connecting trips expensive to discourage non-connecting customers from booking them.—
Talia Soglin,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
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Gateway is modified to first repair the old 1910 tunnel immediately and construct a more economical new tunnel (without expensive and unneeded bench walls and cross-connecting passageways) and link it directly into Penn Station.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
16 Feb. 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
Adjective
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Then more joined, and soon full teams of girls were going up against the boys.—
Laylan Connelly,
Oc Register,
23 Mar. 2026
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At times, groups of works are organized around joined tables, on top of which are placed perishables preserved in lead, resin, or plaster.—
Li Qi,
Artforum,
6 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The attached video first aired on April 6.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
14 Apr. 2026
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At the same time, daily habits show just how attached people have become.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
14 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Encircling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/encircling. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
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