as in roundabout
not straightforward or direct
a rather circular discussion of the problem that never addresses it directly
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in booklet
a short printed publication with no cover or with a paper cover
promptly tosses out those advertising circulars that come in the newspaper
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of circular
Janice Neumann, Chicago Tribune, 14 Apr. 2025
Academics have explored circular economy concepts for the last few decades.
—Lauren Fay, Footwear News, 14 Apr. 2025
Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 1 Dec. 2024
And the next day, FIFA (football’s world governing body) sent out one of their circulars.
—Adam Crafton, The Athletic, 31 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for circular
Adjective
The church has a 92-foot green steeple, which can be seen throughout the neighborhood and from the nearby Metra station, a circular stained glass rose window, and a huge Steere and Turner organ — one of the few remaining in Chicago.
—Janice Neumann, Chicago Tribune, 14 Apr. 2025
Academics have explored circular economy concepts for the last few decades.
—Lauren Fay, Footwear News, 14 Apr. 2025
Noun
In total, the court circular recorded 16 days of in-person meetings in October and 15 in November.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 1 Dec. 2024
And the next day, FIFA (football’s world governing body) sent out one of their circulars.
—Adam Crafton, The Athletic, 31 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for circular
Recent Examples of Synonyms for circular
Adjective
-
Put another way, Coyle is building on her 2014 acknowledgement that GDP has lacking qualities, as do economic statistics broadly in her view, all of which is a heavy throat-clearing, roundabout way of getting back to the anecdote that begins this review.—
John Tamny,
Forbes.com,
21 Apr. 2025
-
There’s always a connection to me as a performer live onstage, but there are also dramaturgical decisions made to have something between us, to be sometimes inaccessible or roundabout.—
Helen Shaw,
The New Yorker,
16 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Brooks recounts the song coming to life in the CD booklet for his compilation album The Hits.—
Marina Watts,
People.com,
17 Apr. 2025
-
Osgood Perkins' adaptation of Stephen King's short story, which first was sold as a booklet included in Gallery Magazine in November 1980, tells the story of twin brothers Bill and Hal who find an old toy monkey in their late father's attic.—
Raja Krishnamoorthi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff held both direct and indirect discussions during the meeting that lasted more than four hours, according to a U.S. official.—
Filip Timotija,
The Hill,
19 Apr. 2025
-
In February, the National Institutes of Health announced a similar cut to indirect research costs, prompting several lawsuits.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Its distinctive leaves consist of small leaflets arranged in rows on each side of the central vein, and its small yellow flowers appear in spherical clusters.—
Erik Zou,
JSTOR Daily,
25 Apr. 2025
-
Outside of the Orland Park Civic Center, a polling place on Tuesday, McLaughlin was handing out leaflets supporting Dodge and the Orland Park for All group as well as for his daughter, Bridget Lindbloom, running for a library board seat.—
Mike Nolan,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Only after addressing each concern systematically—not with glossy brochures but with transparent communication and concrete commitments—did the community embrace what became a transformative project.—
Lynn Godfrey,
Forbes.com,
4 Apr. 2025
-
Engaging visuals, like cartoon characters or friendly animal mascots, can make your website and brochures more appealing to children.—
Ajay Prasad,
Forbes,
21 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Recall's entire file structure is available for anyone to look at, stored away in the user’s AppData folder in a directory called CoreAIPlatform.00\UKP.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
21 Apr. 2025
-
In Canada, the premier of Manitoba, Wab Kinew, signed a decree in an oversized folder and held it up with his signature, à la Trump.—
Hailey Branson-Potts,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Frequent flyers with SkyTeam airlines may find excellent redemption value on SAS flights, which are classified as domestic routes despite their Arctic destination, although the availability of bonus flights is limited.—
David Nikel,
Forbes.com,
21 Apr. 2025
-
Delta Passenger 'Livid' After Airline Gives Their First Class Seat to Dog: 'What an Absolute Joke' His video comes after a passenger claimed a 6-foot-5-inch-tall flyer was moved to the exit row of a plane after repeatedly shoving the seat in front of him while trying to get comfortable.—
Kirsty Hatcher,
People.com,
15 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The pamphlet was distributed to millions of households in November, after being updated for the first time in six years due to increasing military threat levels.—
Sophie Tanno,
CNN Money,
12 Apr. 2025
-
The pamphlet outlines what a heightened state of alert would mean, how each inhabitant would pitch in to a war-time effort, and what different sirens sound like.—
Daniel R. Depetris,
Newsweek,
25 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Circular.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/circular. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share