circumscribe
to draw a line around; encircle: to circumscribe a city on a map.
to enclose within bounds; limit or confine, especially narrowly: Her social activities are circumscribed by school regulations.
to mark off; define; delimit: to circumscribe the area of a science.
Geometry.
to draw (a figure) around another figure so as to touch as many points as possible.
(of a figure) to enclose (another figure) in this manner.
Origin of circumscribe
1Other words for circumscribe
Other words from circumscribe
- cir·cum·scrib·a·ble, adjective
- cir·cum·scrib·er, noun
- non·cir·cum·scribed, adjective
- un·cir·cum·scrib·a·ble, adjective
- un·cir·cum·scribed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use circumscribe in a sentence
Much like Jamie, he acknowledges—but will not capitulate to—the circumscribed world they create.
It took practice to learn how to be productive in these circumscribed blocks but, over time, I developed some rules.
Wired Executives Find that Disconnecting Can Help Spur Creativity | Beth Comstock | October 19, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTGiven the nature of the North Korean state, those negotiations are highly circumscribed.
The church lands needed to be circumscribed and described before they could be sold.
The Manhattan Project: The Legacy of John Randel Jr. | Kevin Canfield | February 21, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTIf this is discrimination, it is of the most highly circumscribed kind.
Should Canada Strip Terrorists of Dual Citizenship? | David Frum | February 9, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
The scenery was of the usual description, consisting of narrow, circumscribed valleys and mountains covered with endless forests.
A Woman's Journey Round the World | Ida PfeifferThis tumult of waters, altogether confined and circumscribed, has nothing of the character of a tempest.
Toilers of the Sea | Victor HugoWhen she left the room, I suppose she was unable to explain the peals of laughter that rang through our circumscribed halls.
Penelope's Experiences in Scotland | Kate Douglas WigginThe very sky had an alien look, seeming vaster somehow than the circumscribed clouds of Kensington.
Sinister Street, vol. 1 | Compton MackenzieWhat meaning is conveyed by the qualifying term “circumscribed”?
Essentials of Diseases of the Skin | Henry Weightman Stelwagon
British Dictionary definitions for circumscribe
/ (ˌsɜːkəmˈskraɪb, ˈsɜːkəmˌskraɪb) /
to restrict within limits
to mark or set the bounds of
to draw a geometric construction around (another construction) so that the two are in contact but do not intersect: Compare inscribe (def. 4)
to draw a line round
Origin of circumscribe
1Derived forms of circumscribe
- circumscribable, adjective
- circumscriber, 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
Scientific definitions for circumscribe
[ sûr′kəm-skrīb′ ]
To draw a figure around another figure so as to touch as many points as possible. A circle that is circumscribed around a triangle touches it at each of the triangle's three vertices.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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