enfold

[ en-fohld ]
See synonyms for: enfoldenfoldedenfoldment on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to wrap up; envelop: to enfold someone in a cloak.

  2. to surround as if with folds: He wished to enfold her in the warmth of his love. What happened is enfolded in mystery.

  1. to hug or clasp; embrace: She enfolded him in her arms.

  2. to form into a fold or folds: The material of the skirt had been enfolded to form a loose, graceful drape.

Origin of enfold

1
First recorded in 1585–95; en-1 + fold1

Other words from enfold

  • en·fold·er, noun
  • en·fold·ment, noun

Words Nearby enfold

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use enfold in a sentence

  • Youth recognized youth, and that indefinite longing which is a part of youth seemed to enfold them for an instant.

    The Light That Lures | Percy Brebner
  • If dullness seem to enfold us, be sure it is we that are dull; it is because our minds are lazy and our eyes unseeing.

    Prairie Smoke (Second Edition, Revised) | Melvin Randolph Gilmore
  • Arms and heart ached to enfold the precious little sinner so grievously worsted in the battle with temptation.

  • If Europe would not strangle herself with her own hands she must strangle the sea serpent whose coils enfold her shores.

    The Crime Against Europe | Roger Casement
  • The bandages were still on his hands and arms, those hands which yearned to take her hands, those arms which ached to enfold her.

    Glory of Youth | Temple Bailey

British Dictionary definitions for enfold

enfold

infold

/ (ɪnˈfəʊld) /


verb(tr)
  1. to cover by enclosing

  2. to embrace

  1. to form with or as with folds

Derived forms of enfold

  • enfolder or infolder, noun
  • enfoldment or infoldment, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012