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. 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. 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. 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; darkness enclosed him"

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

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

v. reject as untrue, unfounded, or unjust; "She repudiated the accusations"