1
as in to circle
to travel completely around
communication satellites encircling the earth
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in to surround
to form a circle around
immediately after announcing their engagement, the couple was encircled by their applauding friends
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of encircle
The rebels breached defenses that had held strong for years, encircling and assaulting military garrisons often without much of a fight.
—
Carlotta Gall, New York Times, 1 Jan. 2025
Violinists stood before the pools encircling the Temple of Dendur, while projections of flowers—specifically, from a 1692 self portrait of Rachel Ruysch made in collaboration with Michiel van Musscher—drenched the stone walls ahead in modulations of violet, rose, and rust.
—Ian Malone, Vogue, 12 Dec. 2024
The jersey features Team Vitality’s bee logo, placed within the Eiffel Tower and encircled by a globe–symbolizing the team’s Parisian origins, plus its wider fanbase around the world.
—Matt Gardner, Forbes, 3 Jan. 2025
Steve Gosney, a Daytona Beach public defender, moved his family to Miami to start a job training new prosecutors and helping shore up some of the ethical issues that have encircled the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office this year.
—Brittany Wallman, Miami Herald, 2 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for encircle 
Carlotta Gall, New York Times, 1 Jan. 2025
Violinists stood before the pools encircling the Temple of Dendur, while projections of flowers—specifically, from a 1692 self portrait of Rachel Ruysch made in collaboration with Michiel van Musscher—drenched the stone walls ahead in modulations of violet, rose, and rust.
—Ian Malone, Vogue, 12 Dec. 2024
The jersey features Team Vitality’s bee logo, placed within the Eiffel Tower and encircled by a globe–symbolizing the team’s Parisian origins, plus its wider fanbase around the world.
—Matt Gardner, Forbes, 3 Jan. 2025
Steve Gosney, a Daytona Beach public defender, moved his family to Miami to start a job training new prosecutors and helping shore up some of the ethical issues that have encircled the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office this year.
—Brittany Wallman, Miami Herald, 2 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for encircle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for encircle
Verb
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The topic of an engagement had been circling the couple for more than a year.—
Julia Moore,
People.com,
16 Jan. 2025
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However, with Europe’s elite clubs always after young, ball-playing centre-backs, other sides will soon be circling.—
The Athletic UK Staff,
The Athletic,
10 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The celebrations surrounding Donald Trump’s second inauguration as president were already kicking into high gear before the Jan. 20 event.—
Sloane Brown,
Baltimore Sun,
19 Jan. 2025
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Six months after the hurricane, Williams is rebuilding The Last Bar Before the Jungle piece by piece, searing spiny lobsters on a stovetop surrounded by power tools.—
Joe Sills,
Forbes,
19 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Others had traversed multiple countries by bus, and yet others had crowded for months into shelters and local hotels hoping for confirmation of an asylum appointment via the mobile app, CBP One, that the Biden administration had utilized since early 2023 to ease the process of applying for asylum.—
Melissa Gomez,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Jan. 2025
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Every day, tens of thousands of flights traverse U.S. airspace with over two million passenger lives depending on the FAA's ability to ensure that every airplane is airworthy and lands safely at its destination.—
John Yoo and John Shu,
Newsweek,
23 Jan. 2025
Verb
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This means that, unlike traditional mobile networks, which depend on cellular towers and terrestrial infrastructure, Starlink uses satellites orbiting the Earth to offer internet directly to users' phones, bypassing the limitations of traditional infrastructure.—
Suhail Syed,
Forbes,
23 Jan. 2025
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The Blue Ghost spacecraft will attempt a lunar landing on Sunday, March 2 after roughly 45 days orbiting both Earth and the moon itself.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA TODAY,
21 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near encircle
Cite this Entry
“Encircle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/encircle. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.
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