Definition of CIRCUMVENT

The Circular History of Circumvent

If you’ve ever felt as if someone were circling around the rules, you have an idea of the origins of "circumvent" - it derives from the Latin circum, meaning "circle," and "ventus," the past participle of the Latin verb venire, meaning "to come." The earliest uses of "circumvent" referred to a tactic of hunting or warfare in which the quarry or enemy was encircled and captured. Today, however, "circumvent" more often suggests avoidance than entrapment; it typically means to "get around" someone or something, as in our example sentences.

Examples of circumvent in a Sentence

Los Angeles was the beachhead for the sushi invasion, attracting many Japanese chefs eager to make their fortunes and to circumvent the grueling 10-year apprenticeship required in their homeland. — Jay McInerney, New York Times Book Review, 10 June 2007 … Rondon and Lyra paddled to the right side, where they found a channel that circumvented the worst part of the rapids. — Candice Millard, The River of Doubt, 2005 His appreciation of this finer side of life is circumvented by a cynicism that he tells me is common to Eastern Europeans. — Lynne Tillman, Motion Sickness, 1991 The thirty-six-hour workweek established by the garment-industry code was circumvented by having the workers punch out at five P.M., leave by the back door (their usual entrance), then return by the front door and work until eleven P.M. without punching the clock. — Melissa Hield, Speaking For Ourselves, (1977) 1984 We circumvented the problem by using a different program. He found a way to circumvent the law.

Recent Examples on the Web

Hackers try to find novel ways to circumvent or undermine data encryption schemes all the time. — Lily Hay Newman, WIRED, "13-Year-Old Encryption Bugs Still Haunt Apps and IoT," 7 Aug. 2019 Antivaccination groups in New York have been promoting home schooling as a way to circumvent a new state law that eliminates religious-belief exemptions for school vaccination requirements. — Alexa St. John And Melanie Grayce West, WSJ, "Antivaccination Groups in New York Push Home Schooling," 4 July 2019 Iran has threatened to break the limits set on its uranium stockpile by the deal in the coming days, if European powers don't find a way to circumvent U.S. sanctions. — Aron Heller, chicagotribune.com, "National Security Adviser John Bolton warns Iran not to mistake U.S. “prudence” for weakness," 23 June 2019 But our closest relatives have found a way to circumvent this defense: vigorously bashing them against trees. — Douglas Main, National Geographic, "In a first, chimpanzees seen smashing and eating tortoises," 23 May 2019 In addition, two songs could get different per-spin royalty rates from internet radio services like Pandora and iHeartRadio; both companies have direct licensing agreements with some publishers that circumvent ASCAP and BMI. — Glenn Peoples, Billboard, "How Much Does Song Length Matter for Artists' Revenue?," 28 Aug. 2019 In recent years, companies have become especially adept at circumventing unclaimed property laws, according to Mayrack. — Michael Waters, The Atlantic, "What Happens to All Those Unused Gift Cards," 27 Aug. 2019 But the staff circumvented this by simply making it all up. — Larissa Macfarquhar, The New Yorker, "The Radical Transformations of a Battered Women’s Shelter," 13 Aug. 2019 In July, California circumvented the Trump administration’s efforts to relax tailpipe pollution regulations by reaching a deal with four major automakers to gradually increase fuel-efficiency standards. — Phil Willon, Los Angeles Times, "California sues to stop Trump rollback of Obama-era restrictions on coal-burning power plants," 13 Aug. 2019

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