circumvent
Americanverb (used with object)
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circumvents,
present (3rd person singular)
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circumvented,
past participle, past
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circumventing
present participle
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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.
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to surround or encompass, as by stratagem; entrap.
to circumvent a body of enemy troops.
verb
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to evade or go around
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to outwit
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to encircle (an enemy) so as to intercept or capture
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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circumventernoun
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circumventionnoun
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circumventornoun
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circumventiveadjective
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uncircumventedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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circumventsimple
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circumventssimple
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have circumventedperfect
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has circumventedperfect
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am circumventingprogressive
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are circumventingprogressive
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is circumventingprogressive
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have been circumventingperfect progressive
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has been circumventingperfect progressive
Past
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circumventedsimple
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had circumventedperfect
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was circumventingprogressive
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were circumventingprogressive
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had been circumventingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of circumvent
First recorded in 1545–55; from Latin circumventus (past participle of circumvenīre “to come around, surround, oppress, defraud”), equivalent to circum- circum- + ven(īre) “to come” + -tus past participle suffix
Explanation
To circumvent is to avoid. Someone who trains elephants but somehow gets out of picking up after them has found a way to circumvent the cleaning of the circus tent. Circum in Latin means "around" or "round about," and vent- comes from venire, "to come," but painting a picture from these two parts of the word helps. Picture someone circling around a barrier instead of climbing over it. That's what you do when you circumvent. You find a smart way around rules or barriers, or avoid doing something unpleasant altogether.
Vocabulary lists containing circumvent
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Around and Around: Circum
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Silver has called attempts to circumvent it a “cardinal sin.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
Still, it illustrates the big opportunities for businesses that are willing to circumvent international sanctions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
Now, he was convinced Carney was trying to rush the opening and circumvent him, a U.S. official said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Last season, BBC Sport exposed the black market of top-flight tickets available for resale online, which circumvent UK laws against ticket touting by being based abroad.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
The truth, seldom mentioned but there for anyone to see, is that nature is not so easily molded and that the insects are finding ways to circumvent our chemical attacks on them.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
But Carvajal-Muñoz’s attorneys are testing a legal theory that circumvents these roadblocks by suing officers under state law for violations of his constitutional rights.
From Slate ● Apr. 15, 2026
“From Internet memes to late-night comedians, from cartoons to the plays and poems as old as organized government itself — Political Satire circumvents traditional gatekeepers & helps hold those in power accountable,” he continued.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2025
International social media platforms like X and YouTube are blocked in China, but can still be accessed with software that circumvents the country’s censorship systems.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 26, 2024
The recent paper in Physical Review Letters also discusses how this proposal circumvents the practical challenges of these type of experiments.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 10, 2024
Perhaps tomorrow someone will invent a theory consistent with everything else we know that circumvents paradoxes on such matters as simultaneity, avoids privileged reference frames and still permits travel faster than light.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Steve Ballmer, the team’s owner, invested $60 million into Aspiration, triggering allegations that the payment to Leonard circumvented the NBA salary cap.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
It said JPMorgan failed to use voice identification technology as widely as it should, and relied on one-time passcodes to authenticate customers that are easily circumvented by scammers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
With swiftly circumvented filters and no discernment, LLMs deliver “expertise” even when they shouldn’t.
From Slate ● Jun. 19, 2026
They believe an effort was made to block the prompt but it was easily circumvented.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
The plot circumvented, Washkar went to work eliminating any remaining objections to his accession.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Since the start of the year, nine shadow fleet tankers suspected of circumventing sanctions have been seized around the EU.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Mac: Security researchers say they have discovered a new way of circumventing Apple’s state-of-the art security technology, using techniques they discovered while testing an early version of Anthropic’s Mythos AI software in April.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 17, 2026
"This indictment should send a message to all ship operators that circumventing safety requirements and breaking US laws will not be tolerated," Paul said.
From Barron's ● May 12, 2026
Yet circumventing a route like the Strait of Hormuz requires sweeping defenses and new pipelines that would take years to build.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 22, 2026
He was the kind of man who worked hard, enjoyed circumventing risks, and avoided the limelight.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
