encircle

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ɛnˈsɝkəl/ UK /ɪnˈsɜːkəl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to form a circle around; surround

Soldiers moved quietly to encircle the enemy camp.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to form a circle around;... surround encompass ring gird enclose circle

Opposites

release free open

Word family

Derived forms encirclementencircled

Related forms circle circular circuit

Etymology

From en- ('in, to put in') + circle (from Latin circulus, diminutive of circus 'ring, circle').

circulus Latin circus Middle English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# encircle

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ɛnˈsɝkəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ɪnˈsɜːkəl/

## Meanings
1. to form a circle around; surround

## Examples
- Soldiers moved quietly to encircle the enemy camp.

## Synonyms
- surround
- encompass
- ring
- gird
- enclose
- circle

## Antonyms
- release
- free
- open

## Derived Forms
- encirclement
- encircled

## Related Forms
- circle
- circular
- circuit

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: circulus
- Root: circus

## Etymology
From en- ('in, to put in') + circle (from Latin circulus, diminutive of circus 'ring, circle').

## AI Etymology
Encircle comes from en- ('in, to put in') + circle (from Latin circulus, diminutive of circus 'ring, circle'). Morphologically, the form is compositional, with the named elements combining to produce the modern spelling and sense. In present use, it is used as a verb meaning "to form a circle around; surround", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The wider English family includes derivatives such as encirclement and encircled and related forms such as circle, circular, and circuit, showing how the same historical material continues to organize neighboring vocabulary. The named historical forms include Latin circulus and Latin circus, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance. Its semantic neighborhood is marked by surround, encompass, ring, and gird on one side and contrasts such as release, free, and open on the other, locating the modern specialization without adding a new origin story.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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