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as in to define
to mark the limits of Lake Michigan circumscribes the city of Chicago on the east

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How is the word circumscribe different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of circumscribe are confine, limit, and restrict. While all these words mean "to set bounds for," circumscribe stresses a restriction on all sides and by clearly defined boundaries.

the work of the investigating committee was carefully circumscribed

When can confine be used instead of circumscribe?

Although the words confine and circumscribe have much in common, confine suggests severe restraint and a resulting cramping, fettering, or hampering.

our choices were confined by finances

When is limit a more appropriate choice than circumscribe?

While in some cases nearly identical to circumscribe, limit implies setting a point or line (as in time, space, speed, or degree) beyond which something cannot or is not permitted to go.

visits are limited to 30 minutes

When might restrict be a better fit than circumscribe?

The words restrict and circumscribe can be used in similar contexts, but restrict suggests a narrowing or tightening or restraining within or as if within an encircling boundary.

laws intended to restrict the freedom of the press

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 circumscribe The marketplace of ideas becomes skewed; the choices of buyers in that marketplace are circumscribed. James L. Gibson, The Conversation, 26 June 2025 Analysts predicted all sorts of potential Iranian retaliatory measures of various sizes and scales, but Iran ultimately opted for an intense but circumscribed missile attack on the Al-Asad Airbase in Iraq, resulting in no fatalities but more than 100 U.S. personnel with traumatic brain injuries. Uri Friedman, The Atlantic, 23 June 2025 Yet this project’s geography is circumscribed, its borders hedged. Daniel Felsenthal, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2025 Yet these men’s behavior was tightly circumscribed, at least in appearance. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for circumscribe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for circumscribe
Verb
  • Lyra’s existence pushes back against the moral absolutes and gendered expectations that define her world and seek to limit her agency.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Oct. 2025
  • This helps limit what hackers and AI scrapers can learn about you online.
    Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Their rugged endurance is what endears Jeeps to car-lovers with a sense of history and who appreciate the significance of a vehicle that defined an indefatigable generation.
    Robert Ross, Robb Report, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Lyra’s existence pushes back against the moral absolutes and gendered expectations that define her world and seek to limit her agency.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Dozens of experts met at a two-day conference on engineering and safeguarding synthetic life in Manchester, UK, in September to discuss where red lines should be drawn to restrict research into technologies that could enable the creation of mirror organisms.
    Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2025
  • On Tuesday, Meta announced that teen accounts on Instagram will be restricted to seeing PG-13 content by default and won’t be able to change their settings without a parent’s permission.
    Dave Smith, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • There, protesters confined to an area of downtown Los Angeles clashed with federal agents.
    Sergio Martínez-Beltrán, NPR, 17 Oct. 2025
  • And once that happens, the risks do not stay confined to one company.
    Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Circumscribe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/circumscribe. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on circumscribe

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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