The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Encompass \En*com"pass\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Encompassed; p.
   pr. & vb. n. Encompassing.]
   To circumscribe or go round so as to surround closely; to
   encircle; to inclose; to environ; as, a ring encompasses the
   finger; an army encompasses a city; a voyage encompassing the
   world. --Shak.
   [1913 Webster]

         A question may be encompassed with difficulty. --C. J.
                                                  Smith.
   [1913 Webster]

         The love of all thy sons encompass thee. --Tennyson.

   Syn: To encircle; inclose; surround; include; environ;
        invest; hem in; shut up.
        [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

encompass
    v 1: 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" [syn: embrace,
         encompass, comprehend, cover]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

209 Moby Thesaurus words for "encompass":
   accouple, accumulate, add, admit, agglutinate, amalgamate, amass,
   articulate, assemble, assimilate, associate, band, beleaguer,
   beset, besiege, blend, blockade, bond, bound, box in, bracket,
   bridge, bridge over, cage, carry, cement, chain, chamber, circle,
   circuit, circuiteer, circulate, circumambulate, circummigrate,
   circumnavigate, circumvent, clap together, close, close in,
   close the circle, coalesce, collect, combine, come full circle,
   come together, compass, compass about, complete, compound,
   comprehend, comprise, concatenate, conglobulate, conjoin,
   conjugate, connect, consolidate, contain, coop, coop in, coop up,
   copulate, cordon, cordon off, corral, count in, couple, cover,
   cycle, delimit, describe a circle, embay, embody, embosom, embrace,
   encircle, enclasp, enclose, enfold, enshrine, envelop, environ,
   envisage, enwrap, extend, fence in, fill, fill in, fill out, flank,
   flux, fuse, gather, gird, girdle, girdle the globe, glue, go,
   go about, go around, go out, go round, go the round, gyre, harass,
   harry, have, hedge in, hem, hem in, hold, house in, impound,
   imprison, incarcerate, include, incorporate, integrate, interblend,
   interfuse, invest, involve, jail, join, kennel, knot, lap,
   lay siege to, lay together, league, leaguer, lie, link,
   lump together, make a circuit, make one, marry, marshal, mass,
   meld, melt into one, merge, mew, mew up, mix, mobilize,
   number among, occupy, orbit, pair, pen, pen in, piece together,
   pocket, put together, quarantine, rail in, range, reach, reach out,
   receive, reckon among, reckon in, reckon with, reembody, revolve,
   ring, roll into one, round, run, shade into, shrine, shut in,
   shut up, skirt, soften up, solder, solidify, span, spiral, splice,
   spread, stable, stick together, straddle, stretch, stretch out,
   subsume, surround, sweep, syncretize, syndicate, synthesize,
   take in, take into account, take into consideration, take up, tape,
   thrust out, tie, unify, unite, wall in, weld, wheel, wrap, yard,
   yard up, yoke