circumvent
Americanverb (used with object)
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circumvents,
present (3rd person singular)
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circumvented,
past participle, past
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circumventing
present participle
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to go around or bypass.
to circumvent the lake;
to circumvent the real issues.
-
to avoid (defeat, failure, unpleasantness, etc.) by artfulness or deception; avoid by anticipating or outwitting.
He circumvented capture by anticipating their movements.
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to surround or encompass, as by stratagem; entrap.
to circumvent a body of enemy troops.
verb
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to evade or go around
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to outwit
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to encircle (an enemy) so as to intercept or capture
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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circumventernoun
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circumventionnoun
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circumventornoun
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circumventiveadjective
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uncircumventedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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circumventsimple
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circumventssimple
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have circumventedperfect
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has circumventedperfect
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am circumventingprogressive
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are circumventingprogressive
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is circumventingprogressive
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have been circumventingperfect progressive
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has been circumventingperfect progressive
Past
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circumventedsimple
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had circumventedperfect
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was circumventingprogressive
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were circumventingprogressive
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had been circumventingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of circumvent
First recorded in 1545–55; from Latin circumventus (past participle of circumvenīre “to come around, surround, oppress, defraud”), equivalent to circum- circum- + ven(īre) “to come” + -tus past participle suffix
Explanation
To circumvent is to avoid. Someone who trains elephants but somehow gets out of picking up after them has found a way to circumvent the cleaning of the circus tent. Circum in Latin means "around" or "round about," and vent- comes from venire, "to come," but painting a picture from these two parts of the word helps. Picture someone circling around a barrier instead of climbing over it. That's what you do when you circumvent. You find a smart way around rules or barriers, or avoid doing something unpleasant altogether.
Vocabulary lists containing circumvent
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Around and Around: Circum
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
States also claim Meta committed unfair business practices by letting users create multiple Instagram accounts, which they say allows kids to circumvent parental controls and rules barring children under age of 13 from creating accounts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
An initial public offering of shares by a China-affiliated offshore entity “is a simple way to circumvent the capital controls,” said Edmund Leow, a senior partner in Singapore at law firm Dentons Rodyk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Last season, BBC Sport exposed the black market of top-flight tickets available for resale online, which circumvent UK laws against ticket touting by being based abroad.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
The spokesperson said that through “routine internal monitoring,” the department identified patterns in driver knowledge test results indicating that “some individuals may have attempted to circumvent the testing process using various cheating methods.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
But I’d never been to Mbandaka, had no idea how far I’d have to go out of my way to circumvent it.
From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer
But Carvajal-Muñoz’s attorneys are testing a legal theory that circumvents these roadblocks by suing officers under state law for violations of his constitutional rights.
From Slate ● Apr. 15, 2026
“From Internet memes to late-night comedians, from cartoons to the plays and poems as old as organized government itself — Political Satire circumvents traditional gatekeepers & helps hold those in power accountable,” he continued.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2025
Wen's case shines a light on the various ways in which North Korea circumvents international sanctions on its arms trade.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2025
This advancement not only circumvents the need for high-purity CO2 but also efficiently repurposes a prevalent waste product, marking a stride towards closing the carbon cycle and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
From Science Daily ● May 14, 2024
To clothe the migrants, he circumvents Mexican Customs, which inspects cars and confiscates used clothing coming into the country, in what Padre Leo believes is an attempt to protect Mexican clothing manufacturers.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
"Sanctions are being circumvented using ageing and poorly maintained tankers, putting coastlines and marine ecosystems at risk," she said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
With swiftly circumvented filters and no discernment, LLMs deliver “expertise” even when they shouldn’t.
From Slate ● Jun. 19, 2026
They believe an effort was made to block the prompt but it was easily circumvented.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
They also say bans can be easily circumvented.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
By getting hired as a CO I effectively circumvented their prohibition on visiting the training academy and the prisons.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
Since the start of the year, nine shadow fleet tankers suspected of circumventing sanctions have been seized around the EU.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Mac: Security researchers say they have discovered a new way of circumventing Apple’s state-of-the art security technology, using techniques they discovered while testing an early version of Anthropic’s Mythos AI software in April.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 17, 2026
In 2007, he pleaded guilty to one count of circumventing accounting controls and paid $289,507 plus interest in disgorgement the following year.
From Barron's ● Apr. 20, 2026
Along with Sony, Universal is suing the company, claiming it ripped copyrighted music from YouTube by circumventing YouTube’s encryption methods designed to block such actions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 2026
And by catching and circumventing threatening behavior early, there was a good chance of diverting those students toward a more positive path.
From "Time Bomb" by Joelle Charbonneau
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
