circumvent
[sur-kuh m-vent, sur-kuh m-vent]
- 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.
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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
Synonyms
See more synonyms for circumvent on Thesaurus.com2. escape, elude, evade, outwit. 3. encircle; ensnare.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
circumvent
- to evade or go around
- to outwit
- to encircle (an enemy) so as to intercept or capture
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Word Origin
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
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Word Origin and History for circumventor
circumvent
v.
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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper