These words refer to something that lies on all or many sides of something else. Circumscribe is the most formal of these words but the most precise in reference, specifically indicating the drawing of a line round a plane figure so as to touch as many points of the figure as possible: a square circumscribed by a circle. Used to describe geographical situations, it need not adhere to this strict geometrical definition, but it still suggests something hedged in on all sides: a small country completely circumscribed by mountains. In other uses, the point of the word is an emphasis on the restriction of something within set limits: severely circumscribing the freedom to dissent in time of war. Encompass means to take in or embrace. Like circumscribe , it may refer to a line drawn round a figure, but it more particularly indicates something set within a circle. It may, furthermore, suggest a setting of limits, but it more often implies a measuring of natural capacities: a view that encompassed the whole of the valley; a mind that could encompass only a few obvious truths: an erudition that encompassed amazing expanses of abstruse knowledge.

Bound almost exclusively pertains to the setting of limits found in circumscribe . It may not, however, necessarily suggest a total hedging in on all sides by the same medium: a city accessible to motorists from the north, although bounded on the south and east by jungle, and on the west by desert. Surround , by contrast, suggests something hedged in on all sides by the same thing, and thus it might be thought a more informal substitute for circumscribe. Surround , however, very often emphasizes an undesirable, hostile, or dangerous circumscribing : a cabin surrounded by the wilderness; decimated troops surrounded by the enemy; watching the dingoes surround the injured ewe. The word can, of course, be used without negative implications: surrounded by the smiling faces of his friends. Encircle is closest to surround in its generality, but it does specifically suggest a tighter cluster about a central object and most often indicates a deliberate grouping for a definite reason: Oppressed serfs throughout the surrounding countryside joined together to encircle the castle.

While the previous words suggest, in simplest terms, a two-dimensional encircling , the remaining words all may indicate a three-dimensional gathering of one thing about another. Envelop refers most strictly to such a situation. It suggests the total surrounding of something, especially by folds or layers, so as to cover up or obscure the thing within: a porcelain vase enveloped in cotton; an aircraft enveloped in fog; He enveloped her in the folds of his cloak. In more metaphorical use, it may refer to a pervasive atmosphere or a totally preoccupied state of mind: enveloped by a sense of warm, sleepy contentment. It may also have overtones of protectiveness or secrecy: the overdone love with which she enveloped her son; an episode enveloped in mystery. Enclose is similar to envelop except that the latter often suggests an amorphous material in which something else may become lost or blurred, whereas enclose may suggest a hollowed solid or anything especially designed to fit round something else: a clock enclosed by a glass bell. Enclose suggests specifically a difficulty of access and often carries overtones of imprisonment or protectiveness: radio-active substances enclosed in heavy lead containers; housewives enclosed in a world of drab routine; a sleeping child enclosed in its mother’s arms. Contain may refer to the mere presence of one thing inside another: plants that contain potassium; the safe that contained the jewels. But it may more specifically suggest the resistance of the thing contained : measures that might contain the vandalism of the students. It has also become a recent fad word in the terminology of power politics: the deployment of missile bases to contain the aggressor.