Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A country or part of a country lying wholly within the boundaries of another.
- n. A distinctly bounded area enclosed within a larger unit: ethnic enclaves in a large city.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To inclose or surround, as a region or state, by the territories of another power.
- n. Something closed; specifically, a small outlying portion of a country which is entirely surrounded by the territories of another power. Enclaves are especially common among the states of the German empire.
- n. In heraldry, anything let into something else, especially when the thing let in is square.
- In heraldry: Let into another bearing or division of the field, especially when the projecting piece is of square form.
Wiktionary
- n. A political, cultural or social entity or part thereof that is completely surrounded by another.
- n. A group that is set off from a larger population by its characteristic or behavior.
- v. transitive To enclose within a foreign territory.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. Recent A tract of land or a territory inclosed within another territory of which it is independent. See exclave.
- v. Recent To inclose within an alien territory.
WordNet 3.0
- n. an enclosed territory that is culturally distinct from the foreign territory that surrounds it
Etymologies
- From French enclave, from Middle French enclave ("enclave"), deverbal of Middle French enclaver ("to inclose"), from Old French enclaver ("to inclose, lock in"), from Vulgar Latin *inclāvāre ("to lock in"), from in + clavis ("key") or clavus ("nail, bolt"). Compare inlock. (Wiktionary)
- French, from Old French enclaver, to enclose, from Vulgar Latin *inclāvāre : Latin in-, in; see en-1 + Latin clāvis, key. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“But before you attach the label enclave of the rich and famous, longtime summer resident and Harvard professor Charles Ogletree says take a look around.”
“The prices quoted at the top of the thread seem to indicate that the primary savings living in the Chapala expat enclave is to be realized mostly in tax burden reduction, (WA state is regressive in this aspect), and not having to pay much for a little heat, and not requiring AC.”
“But the enclave is steadily shrinking and has been for some time.”
MIND MELD: If You Could Change Any Aspect of The Science Fiction Field, What Would it Be?
“How long before the enclave is no longer self-sustaining?”
MIND MELD: If You Could Change Any Aspect of The Science Fiction Field, What Would it Be?
“There, I found a bright, albeit thin sliver of individuality and the last beachhead of what was formerly the main German enclave in Manhattan.”
“But those who are wealthy and privileged create what I call enclave societies.”
“Then the snide reference to the Irish Times, the depiction of Ballsbridge as an 'enclave' - gated it is not - all add up to paint a desperate picture of little Dunne versus Big Bastard D4 snobs.”
“The two countries disagree over the fate of the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, which is also at the center of a dispute between Armenia and Turkish ally Azerbaijan.”
“Though Karabakh isn't mentioned in the protocols, Turkey wants Armenia to pull troops out of several buffer zones around the enclave, which is in Azerbaijan, before it will ratify them.”
The Wall Street Journal: Turkey, on Edge, Watches U.S. Vote on Armenia
“The enclave, which is home to about 1.5 million Palestinians, has been under a U.S. and Israeli-led blockade since Hamas seized control of the small coastal strip bordering Israel and Egypt one year ago.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘enclave’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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Brand Theft Auto
A marque list for cars--models or companies who've used common words as their name.
explorer, navigator, frontier, mustang, quest, cougar, sidekick, legend, legacy, ranger, voyager, civic and 266 more...
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my fab list
blowsabella, aperçu, froideur, salubrious, abject, gallipot, mumchance, wainscot, virago, macerate, lascivious, clandestine and 181 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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501
Classic
irk, teem, blight, pith, moot, mete, ire, bane, bilk, boor, elan, ado and 401 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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September Words-10031
During the month of September, post at least 10 new words to this list. Make sure you cite where you read the word (book/author/pg) and quote the context/sentence where you found it. If someone has...
pseudonym, Cacophony, Cannabis, Bogus, Soulless, via, celestial, Liquor, dwarf, Wretched, Gemini, quartz and 53 more...
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February 2012
filiopietistic, bifurcate, enclave, wedlock, decadent, unduly, defunct, lapel, tumescent, capitulation, leaden, scintilla and 83 more...
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the economist
words seen in the economist, or likely to appear there.
suzerain, balkanization, filibuster, apparatchik, boondoggle, mole-groomer, vero possimus, shorting, enclave, endogenous, exogenous, moral hazard and 35 more...
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Words
teeter, headlong, reprobate, canard, ersatz, prevaricate, trenchant, minatory, fatuous, stultify, vitiate, fulminate and 135 more...
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Faves
nepenthe, cupidity, anodyne, obdurate, doleful, obsolescent, quale, piquant, velleity, inchoate, disport, facile and 366 more...
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kingofbash's Words
bash, poleaxed, salacious, libertine, charlatan, aplomb, fortuitous, finagle, apoplectic, debutante, carte blanche, aardvark and 472 more...
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Logophile, The Back Page (AKA: just c...
node, nexus, locus, toroidal, ivory, kestrel, lyre, muscat, caldera, tapestry, codex, paragon and 103 more...
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Wenderful's Whirled World of Blurred ...
Lexicon I likez... in no order whatsoever.
omnivalence, cerebration, sprachgefühl, schadenfreude, rutabaga, septuagenarian, foible, vainglorious, leviathan, remunerative, catastrophize, ancillary and 182 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for enclave.

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