circumvent

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

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

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

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

British Dictionary definitions for circumventor

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 circumventor

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.