Meanings
present singular third person circumvents · participle present circumventing · participle past circumvented · past circumvented · alternative circumvene
- transitiveto avoid or get around something; to bypass
The line turns a sharp right-angle to the north to circumvent the town, and then plunges straight into the 1 in 50, which lasts for nearly 20 miles with few intermissions, and some pitches of 1 in 40.
1950 April, Timothy H. Cobb, “The Kenya-Uganda Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 265Synonyms: leapfrog
- transitiveto outwit or outsmart
We are mortified by not being thought worthy of trust; and there is also a feeling of small triumph in circumventing those who doubt either our inclination or our power of service.
1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, pages 279–280
Synonyms & antonyms
verbto avoid or get around something; to bypass
More synonyms by meaning
verbbeat through cleverness and wit
verbavoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues)
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*(s)ker-
- Ancient Greekκίρκος (kírkos)
- Latincircus
- Latincircum
- Latincircum-
- Proto-Indo-European*gʷem-
- Proto-Indo-European*gʷm̥yéti
- Proto-Italic*gʷəniō
- Latinveniō
- Latincircumveniō
- Englishcircumvent
Learned borrowing from Latin circumveniō.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian заобика́лям, заобиколя́
- заобика́лям (zaobikáljam)to avoid or get around something
- заобиколя́ (zaobikoljá)to avoid or get around something
- надхитрявам (nadhitrjavam)to outwit
- изигравам (izigravam)to outwit
Catalan evitar, circumvalar
- evitarto avoid or get around something
- circumvalarto avoid or get around something
- rodejarto surround or besiege
- bordejarto surround or besiege
- circumvalarto surround or besiege
- contornejarto surround or besiege
- burlar (no en el sentit de mofar)to outwit
Chinese Mandarin 規避 /规避
- 規避 /规避 (guībì)to avoid or get around something
Danish omgå, omringe
- omgåto avoid or get around something
- omringeto surround or besiege
Dutch omzeilen
- omzeilento avoid or get around something
French contourner, cerner
- contournerto avoid or get around something
- cernerto surround or besiege
- circonvenirto outwit
German umgehen, umlagern
- umgehento avoid or get around something
- umlagernto surround or besiege
- ausmanövrierento outwit
Hungarian megkerül, kikerül
- megkerülto avoid or get around something
- kikerülto avoid or get around something
Irish timpeallaigh
- timpeallaighto surround or besiege
Italian eludere, circonvenire
- eludereto avoid or get around something
- circonvenireto avoid or get around something
- circondareto surround or besiege
Māori honi, hohoni
- honito avoid or get around something
- hohonito avoid or get around something
- takuto avoid or get around something
Polish obchodzić, obejść
- obchodzićto avoid or get around something
- obejśćto avoid or get around something
- omijaćto avoid or get around something
- ominąćto avoid or get around something
- okrążaćto surround or besiege
- okrążyćto surround or besiege
- otaczaćto surround or besiege
- otoczyćto surround or besiege
- osaczaćto surround or besiege
- osaczyćto surround or besiege
- przechytrzaćto outwit
- przechytrzyćto outwit
Portuguese contornar, rodear
- contornarto avoid or get around something
- rodearto surround or besiege
- cercarto surround or besiege
Romanian înconjura, ocoli
- înconjurato avoid or get around something
- ocolito avoid or get around something
- conturnato avoid or get around something
Russian обходи́ть, обойти́
- обходи́ть (obxodítʹ)to avoid or get around something
- обойти́ (obojtí)to avoid or get around something
- обойти́ (obojtí)to surround or besiege
- обойти́ (obojtí)to outwit
Spanish circunvalar, soslayar
- circunvalarto avoid or get around something
- soslayarto avoid or get around something
- contornearto avoid or get around something
- contornarto avoid or get around something
- rodearto avoid or get around something
- circunvalarto surround or besiege
- contornearto surround or besiege
- contornarto surround or besiege
- circunvenirto outwit
- sortearto outwit
- burlarto outwit
Swedish kringgå
- kringgåto avoid or get around something
Ukrainian обійти, перехитрити
- обійти (obijty)to avoid or get around something
- перехитрити (perexytryty)to outwit
- обійтиto outwit
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with circumvent
Cite this entry
circumvent. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/circumvent
“circumvent.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/circumvent. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “circumvent,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/circumvent.
Source: circumvent on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.