circumscribe
verb (used with object)
to draw a line around; encircle.
circumscribed
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past participleof circumscribe.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
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past tense formof circumscribe.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
circumscribeverb (used with object)to draw a line around; encircle.
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.
Of course the playwright has prepared the way, but the wayward emotions emanating from these inwardly glowing performances are refreshing in work that has the crisp, circumscribed elegance of a mathematical proof.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
As recently as the noncooperation movement in 1920-22, women played a far more circumscribed role.
From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2025
Early Renaissance sculptors went to school on works like this, learning from them how to tell a complex story on a flat surface within a circumscribed area.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2025
The family shame around Mitchell’s violent death prevented me from understanding his full legacy, and ultimately circumscribed the meaning of his life and art.
From Slate ● Jun. 6, 2025
Dedd looks at her watch as a polite reminder to the woman that the visit is circumscribed.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
