circumscribe

verb cir·cum·scribe \ ˈsər-kᵊm-ˌskrīb \

|Updated on: 12 Jul 2018

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Examples: circumscribe in a Sentence

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Definition of circumscribe

circumscribed; circumscribing; circumscribes

transitive verb

1 a : to constrict (see constrict 1) the range or activity of definitely and clearly

his role was carefully circumscribed

b : to define or mark off carefully

a study of plant species in a circumscribed area

2 a : to draw a line around

circumscribed the misspelled words

b : to surround by or as if by a boundary

fields circumscribed by tall trees

3 : to construct or be constructed around (a geometrical figure) so as to touch as many points as possible

a circle circumscribing a square

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Examples of circumscribe in a Sentence

The circle is circumscribed by a square.
circumscribed his enthusiasm so as not to make the losing side feel worse

Recent Examples of circumscribe from the Web

Of all his political gifts and tools, Obama has always been most hesitant to wield raw power, circumscribing the options available to him by dismissing the bluntest tools as either immediately or eventually counterproductive.

— gabriel debenedetti, Daily Intelligencer, "Where Is Barack Obama?," 24 June 2018
The jurisdiction and power of the special counsel is highly circumscribed and subject to Justice Department approval.

— neal katyal, Time, "President Trump Is Wrong. The Mueller Probe Is Constitutional," 7 June 2018
Nevertheless, under the anti-Jewish policies of the Nazis, his father’s academic career became circumscribed.

— martin weil, Washington Post, "Gustav Born, British medical researcher who studied blood platelets, dies at 96," 5 May 2018
The Associated Press reported that by the late ’90s, the EPA had discovered the air in a nearby town contained dangerous levels of nearly a dozen pollutants — and this was three miles from the factories, whereas Africatown is circumscribed by them.

— nick tabor, Daily Intelligencer, "Africatown and the 21st-Century Stain of Slavery," 2 May 2018
Opponents of the law said that those large lists, combined with the law’s vague provisions on defamation and punishment, are likely to circumscribe debates over wide swaths of modern Chinese history.

— chun han wong, WSJ, "China Guards Its Historical Heroes With New Law," 27 Apr. 2018
The occasional small overlap or gap in the thin lines that circumscribe the squares are almost the only uncontrolled expressiveness in pictures as studiously devoid of spontaneous gestures as an engineering diagram.

— roberta smith, will heinrich, martha schwendener and jason farago, New York Times, "What to See in New York Art Galleries This Week," 29 Mar. 2018
Instead of circumscribing corporations within moats, Zscaler employs omnipresent sentries.

— robert hackett, Fortune, "What to Know About 2018's First Big Tech IPO," 17 Mar. 2018
Those latter interventions have tested Rex Tillerson’s nerves, and Kelly has long been inclined to circumscribe Kushner’s role.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump Reluctant to Overrule FBI, Give Kushner Security Clearance," 26 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'circumscribe.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Circumscribe has a lot of relatives in English. Its Latin predecessor circumscribere (which roughly translates as "to draw a circle around") derives from circum-, meaning "circle," and scribere, meaning "to write or draw." Among the many descendants of circum- are circuit, circumcise, circumference, circumnavigate, circumspect, circumstance, and circumvent. Scribere gave us such words as scribe and scribble, as well as ascribe, describe, and transcribe, among others. Circumscribe was first recorded in the 14th century; it was originally spelled circumscrive, but the "circumscribe" spelling had also appeared by the end of the century.

Origin and Etymology of circumscribe

Middle English circumscriven, from Latin circumscribere, from circum- + scribere to write, draw — more at scribe

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

circumscribe Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of circumscribe

limit, restrict, circumscribe, confine mean to set bounds for. limit implies setting a point or line (as in time, space, speed, or degree) beyond which something cannot or is not permitted to go.