n. the state of taking in or encircling; "an island in the embrace of the sea"

n. the act of clasping another person in the arms (as in greeting or affection)

v. take up the cause, ideology, practice, method, of someone and use it as one's own; "She embraced Catholicism"; "They adopted the Jewish faith"

v. include in scope; include as part of something broader; have as one's sphere or territory; "This group encompasses a wide range of people from different backgrounds"; "this should cover everyone in the group"

v. believe or accept without questioning or challenge; "Am I supposed to swallow that story?"

v. have confidence or faith in; "We can trust in God"; "Rely on your friends"; "bank on your good education"; "I swear by my grandmother's recipes"

v. be around; "Developments surround the town"; "The river encircles the village"

v. form the boundary of; be contiguous to

v. enclose or enfold completely with or as if with a covering; "Fog enveloped the house"

v. enclose in, or as if in, a case; "my feet were encased in mud"

v. envelop completely; "smother the meat in gravy"

v. enclose with a fence; "we fenced in our yard"

v. stretch out over a distance, space, time, or scope; run or extend between two points or beyond a certain point; "Service runs all the way to Cranbury"; "His knowledge doesn't go very far"; "My memory extends back to my fourth year of life"; "The facts extend beyond a consideration of her personal assets"

v. span an interval of distance, space or time; "The war extended over five years"; "The period covered the turn of the century"; "My land extends over the hills on the horizon"; "This farm covers some 200 acres"; "The Archipelago continues for another 500 miles"

v. spread across or over; "A big oil spot spread across the water"

v. represent in bodily form; "He embodies all that is evil wrong with the system"; "The painting substantiates the feelings of the artist"

v. make into a whole or make part of a whole; "She incorporated his suggestions into her proposal"

v. have as an attribute, knowledge, or skill; "he possesses great knowledge about the Middle East"

v. close in or confine

v. refuse to accept or acknowledge; "I reject the idea of starting a war"; "The journal rejected the student's paper"

v. cast off or disown; "She renounced her husband"; "The parents repudiated their son"

v. lack or fail to include; "The cost for the trip excludes food and beverages"