circumnavigated

verb

past tense of circumnavigate
1
as in circled
to travel completely around the first ship to circumnavigate the globe

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in bypassed
to avoid by going around we can circumnavigate the traffic jam if we take the next exit

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 circumnavigated Chicagoan Bill Pinkney sailed into Boston Harbor having circumnavigated the globe all by himself, the third American and the first Black person to have accomplished the feat by taking a route that included the five southernmost capes. — Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 9 June 2026 The menu from chef Reneé Touponce and beverage director Jade Ayala, both James Beard Award–recognized, likewise circumnavigated the globe. — Kevin West, Travel + Leisure, 9 June 2026 The first Global Ocean Sampling Expedition, which used Venter’s own yacht, circumnavigated the globe between 2005 and 2006. — Claire Cameron, Scientific American, 30 Apr. 2026 The Apollo 8 photo, however, showed Earth reemerging into view, rather than disappearing, as astronauts Bill Anders, Frank Borman and Jim Lovell circumnavigated the moon. — Denise Chow, NBC news, 7 Apr. 2026 During the 1969 Apollo 10 mission — the one in which Thomas Stafford, John Young and Eugene Cernan circumnavigated the moon — Stafford reported back to mission control on Day 6 of the mission that a piece of waste was floating through the cabin, according to once-confidential government documents. — Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 4 Apr. 2026 Ko Samui is the third-largest island in the country but remains small enough to be circumnavigated in just a couple of hours by motorbike or car, making neighboring locations easy to access. — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 26 Nov. 2025 The 16th-century adventurer, who first circumnavigated the globe by sea in 1522, wavers beneath the pressure of his pursuit, ultimately leading his men to mutiny and madness on the Malay Archipelago. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 18 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for circumnavigated
  1. circled
  2. bypassed
  3. traversed
  4. circumvented
  5. orbited
  6. avoided
  7. encircled
  8. crossed
Verb
  • During the group stage, the team from tiny Curaçao, after a 7-1 loss to Germany, circled in prayer on the pitch.
    — the Monitor’s Editorial Board, Christian Science Monitor, 16 July 2026
  • While Babcock never coached in Columbus, many will probably have this date circled.
    — Julian McKenzie, New York Times, 16 July 2026
Definition of circled
Verb
  • Paramount and others have criticized the states’ case because prosecutors bypassed the increasingly important streaming business as part of their market definition.
    — Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026
  • Argentina were aggressive once Messi and Alvarez were bypassed, but quick passes out wide to Ndoye or into Embolo gave the Swiss a reliable route towards the penalty area.
    — Stuart James, New York Times, 12 July 2026
Definition of bypassed
Verb
  • Bear tracks showed where a pair of grizzlies had traversed our island and swum to the far shore.
    — John Todd, Outdoor Life, 9 July 2026
  • Some traffic traversed the strait on Tuesday, according to data and analytics company Kpler, which verified 41 crossings compared to 36 on Monday.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 July 2026
Definition of traversed
Verb
  • Kawhi Leonard’s trade to the Toronto Raptors is on hold pending the outcome of the NBA’s investigation into whether the Los Angeles Clippers circumvented salary-cap rules, the teams announced Thursday.
    — Tim Reynolds, Chicago Tribune, 10 July 2026
  • The Toronto Raptors put the brakes on acquiring Kawhi Leonard from the Clippers, announcing Thursday that the trade is on hold until the NBA investigation into whether the Clippers circumvented salary cap rules is complete.
    — Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026
Definition of circumvented
Verb
  • Although the black hole itself is dark, it is orbited by a normal star with a mass 78% that of our sun.
    — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 14 July 2026
  • The satellite has orbited Earth about once every hour and a half for more than two decades, and over time, friction with particles in the upper atmosphere has caused its orbit to decay.
    — Anna Y. Q. Ho, Scientific American, 29 June 2026
Definition of orbited
Verb
  • Stevens has largely avoided discussing the organization directly, even as its spending has reshaped the race.
    — Joey Cappelletti, Fortune, 19 July 2026
  • The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into Waymo in May after instances during which the self-driving cars collided with objects that a human driver could have easily avoided.
    — Amaia Gavica, Miami Herald, 18 July 2026
Definition of avoided
Verb
  • Ferguson’s ring features a central ruby encircled by diamonds that resemble flower petals.
    — Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 11 July 2026
  • In the 1940s, the Queen switched rings, and began wearing a ladylike large pearl, encircled with diamonds.
    — Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 6 July 2026
Definition of encircled
Verb
  • Gas first crossed the $4 mark, a psychologically important threshold, on March 31, a month into the conflict.
    — Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 20 July 2026
  • Her family has been struggling after her husband lost his job as a motorcycle rider and crossed the border into neighboring Niger to look for work.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 19 July 2026
Definition of crossed

Browse Nearby Words

circumnavigate
circumnavigated
circumnavigates
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Circumnavigated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/circumnavigated. Accessed 22 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on circumnavigated

Nglish: Translation of circumnavigated for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of stalwart

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
thumbnail graphic with text word of the day quiz
Weekly "Word of the Day" Quiz See how well you know each Word of the Day for Ju...
See All