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surrounded

verb

past tense of surround
as in encircled
to form a circle around she was surrounded by cheering fans within moments of scoring the winning goal

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of surrounded Silly, witty, and sociable, the duo moved to Durham Cottage in London, where there were happy days surrounded by everyone from John Gielgud to Graham Greene, Orson Welles, John and Mary Mills, Noël Coward, and William Wyler. — Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 21 Sep. 2026 Her work surrounded them, and her studio, the grandest space in the house, stood open just beyond the living room. — Tara Anne Dalbow, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2026 Look to the east, west and south and we are surrounded by states — Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri — that have opted in to the new federal scholarship program. — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 20 Sep. 2026 Speaking of Moscow, most of the institutions of the Russian government are surrounded by walls and parapets. — Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 20 Sep. 2026 The couple quietly eloped in 2025, with Rodgers deliberately keeping his new wife away from the celebrity circus that surrounded his previous relationships. — Lauryn Overhultz, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2026 Eighty miles of gallops surrounded by all that unploughed grass, rich in limestone, good for horse bones and fertilized by roaming sheep. — Jon Wertheim, CBS News, 20 Sep. 2026 After a few minutes, Reed was strapped on a back board and loaded onto the cart as the entire Packers sideline surrounded him — many of them on a knee and praying. — ABC News, 20 Sep. 2026 Rather than chart her full life, the Hindi-language film, starring Sneha Kumari in the title role, isolates a single 48-hour standoff in which 2,000 armed police and paramilitary personnel surrounded a village to capture her, then 17 years old. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 14 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for surrounded
  1. encircled
  2. circled
  3. encompassed
  4. ringed
  5. embraced
Verb
  • The soccer ball, muddy from outside, is encircled in one arm.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Instead of gold watches, silver handcuffs encircled their wrists.
    — Jonny Hallam, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of encircled
Verb
  • For the Connington family, it has been circled for much longer.
    — Taylor Eldridge, Kansas City Star, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Survivors wheeled and circled above the wreckage for days, and injured birds straggling ashore were killed by Angelenos looking for a free meal.
    — Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of circled
Verb
  • His career has encompassed more than four decades, including four EuroLeague titles, with Virtus Bologna in 1998 and 2001 and CSKA Moscow in 2006 and 2008.
    — AJC Sports, AJC.com, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Edu’s position at Forest had also encompassed the other clubs across the football empire of owner and Greek shipping magnate Evangelos Marinakis, namely Greek side Olympiacos and Portuguese outfit Rio Ave.
    — Colin Millar, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of encompassed
Verb
  • If your glasses always come out of the dishwasher looking cloudy or your faucets are ringed with white residue, hard water could be the reason.
    — Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Standard galactic black holes are ringed by a thick doughnut of gas and dust, which can block most X-rays.
    — Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of ringed
Verb
  • But its vision of the city, a space that seems impossible to hold in your head but can be overcome and even embraced, feels incredibly emotionally accurate.
    — Jordan Minor, PC Magazine, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Moore’s parents have embraced the talk of what could be ahead.
    — Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of embraced

Browse Nearby Words

surround
surrounded
surrounding
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Cite this Entry

“Surrounded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surrounded. Accessed 23 Sep. 2026.

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