circumvention

American  

[sur-kuhm-ven-shuhn] / ˌsɜr kəmˈvɛn ʃən /

noun

1. the act of bypassing or going around something.

   Taking the northern route, to allow circumvention of the mountains, made the journey twice as long.

2. the act of avoiding, evading, or forestalling something, often by cleverness or deception.

   Thorough consultation before implementing an innovation allows for the circumvention of potential risks.

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Etymology

Origin of circumvention

First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin circumventiōn-, stem of circumventiō “a coming around, surrounding; oppression,” equivalent to circumvent ( def. ) + -ion ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

circumvention

Salary-cap circumvention allegations first surfaced with Leonard during his free agency in 2019 after he led the Raptors to the NBA championship and was being courted by the Lakers and Clippers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

German fans have long criticised Red Bull for its multi-club model and effective circumvention of the much-loved 50+1 rule, which guarantees supporter voting rights at German clubs.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

Millions of Iranians routinely relied on circumvention tools like virtual private networks, or VPNs, to access blocked foreign websites and social-media platforms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026

Iran is generally a very tech-savvy country, and many people constantly have multiple circumvention apps on their phones.

From Barron's ● Mar. 20, 2026

There were reasons for my mirror writing: for abbreviations and symbols, the prying of idle appren­tices, the intrusion of rivals, the circumvention of blabbers.

From Voices from the Past by Paul Alexander Bartlett