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Glite Dictionary
🤓 Fully absorbed 📜 Officially written
engrossed

engrossed

8.5
Written clearly in large formal handwriting for use as an official legal record
  • adjective
  • /ɪnˈɡroʊst/
  • Formal
translation icon : escrito
  • The lawyer handed over the engrossed copy of the contract for the clients to sign.

Examples

  • During the ceremony, the engrossed charter was displayed for all attendees to admire.

  • An engrossed deed was preserved in the county archives as an official record.

  • The contract was engrossed in clear handwriting.

  • The engrossed deed was presented to the court.

  • The lawyer handed over the engrossed copy of the contract for the clients to sign.

  • During the ceremony, the engrossed charter was displayed for all attendees to admire.

  • An engrossed deed was preserved in the county archives as an official record.

Antonyms

informal
98 3.1

Not formal or official, relaxed and casual

illegible
8 5.5

Hard to read because the writing is messy or the print is faded

Surface Forms

engrossed positive

Morphology

engrossed = engross (semi-transparent) = en + gross + ed

The sense 'written in large, clear script' follows from en- + gross ('large') but is a specialized/legal usage many learners will not know.

Etymology

Engrossed comes from an old practice of writing important papers in a big, clear hand, using the root gross meaning 'large'. So an engrossed document is a formal copy written in large, neat letters for official use.