circumscription

American  

[sur-kuhm-skrip-shuhn] / ˌsɜr kəmˈskrɪp ʃən /

noun

1. an act or instance of circumscribing.

2. circumscribed state; limitation.

3. anything that circumscribes, surrounds, or encloses; boundary.

4. periphery; outline.

5. a circumscribed area.

6. a circular inscription on a coin, seal, etc.

7. limitation of a meaning; definition.

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circumscription British  

/ ˌsɜːkəmˈskrɪpʃən /

noun

1. the act of circumscribing or the state of being circumscribed

2. something that limits or encloses

3. a circumscribed space

4. an inscription around a coin or medal

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Other Word Forms

• circumscriptive adjective
• circumscriptively adverb
• noncircumscriptive adjective

Etymology

Origin of circumscription

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin circumscrīptiōn- (stem of circumscrīptiō ), equivalent to circumscrīpt ( us ) (past participle of circumscrībere to circumscribe; circum-, script ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

That said, the impact of Mr. Cervas’s circumscription has already been profound, creating the likelihood of highly competitive general-election campaigns from Long Island to upstate New York.

From New York Times • May 28, 2022

It is a better movie than it was a play, for the sequences showing the dissipations of very young and very rich characters do not suffer the stage's three-walled circumscription.

From Time Magazine Archive

In Princess Elizabeth's life there was never any such grim circumscription.

From Time Magazine Archive

It seemed to us," said the majority, "that an alternative recommendation would be possible, if we were allowed to exercise mature practical judgment without the rigid circumscription of regulations and criteria established for us.

From Time Magazine Archive

System, again, which is often confounded with it, is a mapping out, a circumscription of knowledge, either already gained, or theoretically laid down as probable.

From Spare Hours by Brown, John