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envelop

/ɪnˈvɛləp//ɪnˈvɛləp/·verb
to wrap up and surround something completely
Fig. 1 — A flower stands open, its bright heart bared to the air.
01Definition

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.

02In use
  • iBy dusk a cold mist had begun to envelop the harbour, and the dock lights turned somber.
  • iiA heavy silence enveloped the hall as the results were read aloud.
  • iiiSmoke from the fire enveloped the ridge and made the smell linger for days.
03Collocations
  • envelop in darkness
  • fog enveloped the
  • enveloped in silence
  • envelop completely

Family enveloping (adjective) · envelopment (noun)

04Relations

=surround, enclose, engulf, swathe, enfold

≠expose, uncover, reveal

06TOEFL & 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.

07Asked
What is the difference between 'envelop' and 'envelope'?
Envelop is the verb — to wrap or surround completely, with no final e (fog envelops the valley). Envelope is the noun with the e — the paper cover you post a letter in. The memory hook: envelop rhymes with develop, and neither of those verbs takes a final e. Add the e and you have the thing, not the action.
How do you pronounce envelop?
En-VEL-op — three syllables, stress on the second, rhyming with develop. That is the verb. The noun envelope moves the stress to the front (EN-vuh-lope) and can even start with 'ahn-' in some speakers. So the stress alone tells them apart in speech: the action leans on the middle, the object on the front.
Is it 'enveloped in' or 'enveloped with'?
In is the standard pairing: enveloped in fog, in darkness, in silence, in flames. It suits the word's sense of being taken wholly inside something. 'Enveloped by' also works, stressing the surrounding agent ('enveloped by the crowd'). 'Enveloped with' is rare and reads oddly — reach for in or by.
What does 'enveloped in darkness' mean?
Completely surrounded and hidden by it, as if wrapped — the darkness closing in from every side at once, not falling like a curtain. It is a favourite of descriptive writing precisely because envelop implies a soft, total covering. 'Enveloped in silence' and 'enveloped in fog' work the same way: the thing vanishes inside.
What is the difference between envelop and engulf?
Envelop is a soft, complete wrapping that closes in gently from all sides — fog envelops a hill. Engulf is violent and overwhelming, a swallowing-up: flames engulf a building, grief engulfs a person. Both surround totally, but envelop covers while engulf consumes. The scene above is envelop, not engulf — petals folding over the fly, not devouring it.
What does 'envelopment' mean?
The noun for wrapping something completely round. In everyday use it is rare — the verb does most of the work — but it has a precise military sense: an envelopment is a manoeuvre that attacks an enemy's flank or rear, and a double envelopment surrounds them on both sides at once. The core holds: closing in from around.