circumvent - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

cir·cum·vent

Audio Help [sur-kuh

m-vent, sur-kuh

m-vent] Pronunciation Key

–verb (used with object)

1.	to go around or bypass: to circumvent the lake; to circumvent the real issues.

2.	to avoid (defeat, failure, unpleasantness, etc.) by artfulness or deception; avoid by anticipating or outwitting: He circumvented capture by anticipating their movements.

3.	to surround or encompass, as by stratagem; entrap: to circumvent a body of enemy troops.

[Origin: 1545–55; < L circumventus (ptp. of circumvenīre to come around, surround, oppress, defraud), equiv. to circum- circum- + ven(īre) to come + -tus ptp. suffix

]

—Related forms

cir·cum·vent·er, cir·cum·ven·tor, noun

cir·cum·ven·tion, noun

cir·cum·ven·tive, adjective

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
circumvent

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

cir·cum·vent Audio Help (sûr'kəm-věnt') Pronunciation Key
tr.v. cir·cum·vent·ed, cir·cum·vent·ing, cir·cum·vents

To surround (an enemy, for example); enclose or entrap.
To go around; bypass: circumvented the city.
To avoid or get around by artful maneuvering: She planned a way to circumvent all the bureaucratic red tape.

[Middle English circumventen, from Latin circumvenīre, circumvent- : circum-, circum- + venīre, to go, come; see g^wā- in Indo-European roots.]

cir'cum·vent'er, cir'cum·ven'tor n., cir'cum·ven'tion n., cir'cum·ven'tive adj.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
circumvent

1534, "to surround by hostile stratagem," from L. circumventus, pp. of circumvenire "to get around," from circum "around" + venire "to come" (see venue). Meaning "to go round" is from 1840.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

circumvent
verb
1.	surround so as to force to give up; "The Turks besieged Vienna" [syn: besiege]
2.	beat through cleverness and wit; "I beat the traffic"; "She outfoxed her competitors" [syn: outwit]
3.	avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues); "He dodged the issue"; "she skirted the problem"; "They tend to evade their responsibilities"; "he evaded the questions skillfully"

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Circumvent

Cir`cum*vent"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Circumvented; p. pr. vb. n. Circumventing.] [L. circumventis, p. p. of circumvenire, to come around, encompass, deceive; circum + venire to come, akin to E. come.] To gain advantage over by arts, stratagem, or deception; to decieve; to delude; to get around.

I circumvented whom I could not gain. --Dryden.

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