circumvent

[sur-kuhm-vent, sur-kuhm-vent]

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verb (used with object)

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.

to surround or encompass, as by stratagem; entrap: to circumvent a body of enemy troops.

Origin of circumvent

1545–55; < Latin circumventus (past participle of circumvenīre to come around, surround, oppress, defraud), equivalent to circum- circum- + ven(īre) to come + -tus past participle suffix

Related formscir·cum·vent·er, cir·cum·ven·tor, nouncir·cum·ven·tion, nouncir·cum·ven·tive, adjectiveun·cir·cum·vent·ed, adjective

Synonyms for circumvent

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR circumvent ON THESAURUS.COM

2. escape, elude, evade, outwit. 3. encircle; ensnare.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for circumvention

avoidance, evasion, bypass

Examples from the Web for circumvention

Historical Examples of circumvention

Well, what can't be done by main courage, in war, must be done by circumvention.
The Last of the Mohicans
James Fenimore Cooper
In which there is no wound or defeat or circumvention so long as thou fleest not.
The Mediaeval Mind (Volume I of II)
Henry Osborn Taylor
From the day an animal is born, instinct and training are bent toward the circumvention of enemies.
Wild Life Near Home
Dallas Lore Sharp
And even in dreams her genius invented fresh expedients, wrote notes of apology, or made speeches of circumvention.
Tales And Novels, Volume 5 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
One worthy deed, however, he did perform: he publicly burned the Bill for the Circumvention of the Flamp, amid deafening applause.
The Flamp, The Ameliorator, and The Schoolboy's Apprentice
E. V. Lucas

British Dictionary definitions for circumvention

circumvent

verb (tr)

to evade or go around

to outwit

to encircle (an enemy) so as to intercept or capture

Derived Formscircumventer or circumventor, nouncircumvention, nouncircumventive, adjective

Word Origin for circumvent

C15: from Latin circumvenīre, from circum- + venīre to come

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for circumvention

early 15c., from Latin circumventionem (nominative circumventio), noun of action from past participle stem of circumvenire "to get around" (see circumvent).

circumvent

mid-15c., "to surround by hostile stratagem," from Latin circumventus, past participle of circumvenire "to get around, be around, encircle, surround," in figurative sense "to oppress, assail, cheat," from circum "around" (see circum-) + venire "to come" (see venue). Meaning "to go round" is from 1840. Related: Circumvented; circumventing.