CIRCUMVENT
| Pronunciation (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does circumvent mean?
• CIRCUMVENT (verb)
The verb CIRCUMVENT has 3 senses:
1. surround so as to force to give up
2. beat through cleverness and wit
3. avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues)
Familiarity information: CIRCUMVENT used as a verb is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
• CIRCUMVENT (verb)
Meaning:
Surround so as to force to give up
Classified under:
Verbs of fighting, athletic activities
Synonyms:
besiege; circumvent; beleaguer; hem in; surround
Context example:
The Turks besieged Vienna
Hypernyms (to "circumvent" is one way to...):
assail; attack (launch an attack or assault on; begin hostilities or start warfare with)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "circumvent"):
blockade; seal off (impose a blockade on)
ebb (hem in fish with stakes and nets so as to prevent them from going back into the sea with the ebb)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Meaning:
Beat through cleverness and wit
Classified under:
Verbs of fighting, athletic activities
Synonyms:
outsmart; outwit; overreach; circumvent; outfox; beat
Context examples:
I beat the traffic / She outfoxed her competitors
Hypernyms (to "circumvent" is one way to...):
exceed; outdo; outgo; outmatch; outperform; outstrip; surmount; surpass (be or do something to a greater degree)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Meaning:
Avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues)
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Synonyms:
sidestep; skirt; hedge; evade; parry; fudge; elude; dodge; circumvent; duck; put off
Context examples:
He dodged the issue / she skirted the problem / They tend to evade their responsibilities / he evaded the questions skillfully
Hypernyms (to "circumvent" is one way to...):
avoid (stay clear from; keep away from; keep out of the way of someone or something)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "circumvent"):
quibble (evade the truth of a point or question by raising irrelevant objections)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
