lexicow

envelop

/ɪnˈvɛləp//ɪnˈvɛləp/·verb
A small rock sits alone on the sea. A great wave swells in from the side, rises, and curls its foaming crest right over the top of it — and for a moment the rock is gone, taken wholly inside the water and the white. Then the wave spends itself and draws back, and the rock emerges, unmoved, the foam sliding off it. It was not struck down; it was wrapped and hidden from every side, and was there still when the cover withdrew.
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Definition

To envelop is to wrap something completely — to surround and enclose it until it is hidden inside. Fog envelops a valley, darkness envelops a street, and a smell or a mood can envelop a room. From Old French envoloper, it suggests a soft, total covering that closes in from every side at once rather than a single barrier sliding across. Mind the spelling and stress: the verb envelop (en-VEL-op) has no final 'e', unlike the noun envelope (EN-ve-lope) that you post a letter in.

Examples

  • By dusk a cold mist had begun to envelop the harbour, and the dock lights turned somber.
  • A heavy silence enveloped the hall as the results were read aloud.
  • Smoke from the fire enveloped the ridge and made the smell linger for days.

Collocations

envelop in darkness·fog enveloped the·enveloped in silence·envelop completely

Synonyms

surround·enclose·engulf·swathe·enfold

Antonyms

expose·uncover·reveal

Word family

enveloping (adjective)·envelopment (noun)

In TOEFL & IELTS

Most useful for descriptive Writing and for TOEFL reading on weather and atmosphere ('clouds envelop the peak'). The one thing examiners and spell-checkers punish is mixing it up with the noun envelope — keep the verb's no-'e' ending and its second-syllable stress.