circumscribe

[ sur-kuhm-skrahyb, sur-kuhm-skrahyb ]

verb (used with object)

, cir·cum·scribed, cir·cum·scrib·ing.

1. to draw a line around; encircle:

   to circumscribe a city on a map.

2. to enclose within bounds; limit or confine, especially narrowly:

   Her social activities are circumscribed by school regulations.

   Synonyms: hinder, hamper, check, restrain, restrict

3. to mark off; define; delimit:

   to circumscribe the area of a science.

4. Geometry.
   1. to draw (a figure) around another figure so as to touch as many points as possible.
   2. (of a figure) to enclose (another figure) in this manner.

circumscribe

/ ˌsɜːkəmˈskraɪb; ˈsɜːkəmˌskraɪb /

verb

1. to restrict within limits
2. to mark or set the bounds of
3. See inscribe
   to draw a geometric construction around (another construction) so that the two are in contact but do not intersect Compare inscribe
4. to draw a line round

circumscribe

/ sûr′kəm-skrīb′ /

1. 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.

Derived Forms

• ˌcircumˈscriber, noun
• ˌcircumˈscribable, adjective

Other Words From

• 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of circumscribe¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin circumscrībere, equivalent to circum- circum- + scrībere to write

Word History and Origins

Origin of circumscribe¹

C15: from Latin circumscrībere, from circum- + scrībere to write

Example Sentences

So when the pandemic hit, he felt determined to do more than just ensure the survival of his restaurant — he wanted to embed more deeply in the neighborhood, albeit from within the tightly circumscribed framework of fine dining.

From Eater

This kind of effect on memory is likely to be short term and circumscribed to the information the subjects saved onto the device.

From Nautilus

There is the man, who scared the living hell out of me, but the rage was about growing up in a world circumscribed by the reality of race.

From Ozy

For travelers like me circumscribed by the pandemic, aromas offer the chance to revisit cherished journeys.

From Washington Post

Such is the unbearable situation created in a culture quick to judge, to expel and especially to circumscribe the lives of women.

From Washington Post

Their opponents accepted the issue, and resolved to circumscribe the duke's inordinate powers.

From Project Gutenberg

It is my wish to state it with precision and circumscribe its limits here at the very start.

From Project Gutenberg

A new spirit has now gone abroad which no walls can bound or circumscribe.

From Project Gutenberg

This finally came to be so urgent that it even involved an effort to circumscribe the futile activities.

From Project Gutenberg

Of a simple and solid edifice, it is not easy, however, to circumscribe the duration.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• delineate
• hem in