adjective
C2
Proficient
all-encompassing
awl-en-KUM-puh-sing
All-encompassing (adjective) means including or covering everything relevant, leaving nothing out. Example: “The report offers an all-encompassing review of the department's failings.”
adjective
1
Including or covering everything relevant, leaving nothing out.
"The report offers an all-encompassing review of the department's failings."
"Her love of the sea was all-encompassing and shaped every choice she made."
"This essay, "Identity: Skin Blood Heart," is an account of her struggle to wrench herself free from the all-encompassing racist indoctrination that white people in North America are taught."
— Malkah Barrsey Feldman, Blacks & Jews: Vulnerability & Values (1985)
How to use all-encompassing
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishCovering absolutely everything.
When to use it
Neutral to slightly emphatic. Common in reviews, business writing and emotional description.
Memory tip
All-inclusive is mostly used about holidays and prices; all-encompassing is about scope and coverage.
Easily confused with
all-encompassing / all-inclusive
all-encompassing / all-consuming
Common pairings
all-encompassing view
all-encompassing love
all-encompassing solution
all-encompassing fear
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The report offers an _____ review of the department's failings.
Synonyms
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Related words
Rhymes for all-encompassing
See all rhymes for all-encompassing →Frequently asked questions
Is all-encompassing hyphenated?
Yes. It is standardly written with a hyphen before the noun it modifies and usually keeps the hyphen after a verb too — the strategy is all-encompassing. Writing it as two separate words is treated as an error by most style guides.
What is the difference between all-encompassing and comprehensive?
Comprehensive is the neutral, factual word for covering everything necessary. All-encompassing is stronger and often emotional, suggesting something so total that it dominates — an all-encompassing grief, an all-encompassing obsession.
Can all-encompassing be negative?
It can. Applied to feelings, workloads or systems of control, it often implies that nothing has been left free of it, which is usually unwelcome.
What is the meaning of all-encompassing?
"all-encompassing" (adjective) means including or covering everything relevant, leaving nothing out.
