Synonyms of circumscribed

circumscribed 1 of 2

adjective

as in limited

having distinct or certain limits

the powers of that state's governor are so sharply circumscribed that often his hands are tied by the state legislature

Synonyms & Similar Words

• limited
• restricted
• finite
• defined
• narrow
• definite
• bounded
• determinate
• specific
• measured
• confined
• detailed
• small
• tiny
• constricted
• modified
• qualified
• fixed
• modest
• precise
• moderate
• determined
• settled
• exact
• puny
• minute

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• infinite
• unbounded
• undefined
• indefinite
• boundless
• limitless
• unlimited
• endless
• illimitable
• dimensionless
• unmeasured
• immeasurable
• innumerable
• incalculable
• measureless
• inexhaustible
• general
• vague
• indeterminate
• unfathomable
• inestimable
• countless
• enlarged
• nebulous
• unqualified
• large
• bottomless
• expanded
• unreserved
• vast
• extensive
• considerable
• substantial
• plentiful
• copious
• broad
• sizable
• voluminous
• great
• big
• expansive
• handsome
• major
• respectable
• bulky
• whole
• goodly
• super
• ample
• universal
• grandiose
• inclusive
• oversize
• comprehensive
• jumbo
• cosmopolitan
• epic
• sweeping
• global
• hefty
• escalated
• bumper
• largish
• plenitudinous
• overscale
• hulking
• whacking
• king-size

circumscribed

2 of 2

verb

past tense of circumscribe

1

as in restricted

to set bounds or an upper limit for

circumscribed his enthusiasm so as not to make the losing side feel worse

Synonyms & Similar Words

• limited
• restricted
• confined
• tightened
• capped
• held down
• hampered
• hindered
• narrowed
• impeded
• suppressed
• blocked
• obstructed
• modified
• barred
• constricted
• contracted
• repressed
• lessened
• squeezed
• pinched
• numbered
• qualified
• quelled

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• exceeded
• expanded
• broadened
• widened
• overextended
• overreached

2

as in defined

to mark the limits of

Lake Michigan circumscribes the city of Chicago on the east

Synonyms & Similar Words

• defined
• limited
• bounded
• demarcated
• described
• delimited
• marked (off)
• demarked
• governed
• terminated
• controlled
• delineated
• determined

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of circumscribed

Adjective

The authors of the study estimated that their circumscribed findings extrapolated countywide could represent up to $114 million in losses over a month of sustained enforcement. — Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 22 July 2026

Signs will redirect cyclists around the circumscribed area, requiring them in some cases to take winding alternative routes. — Rachel Swan, San Francisco Chronicle, 6 Feb. 2026

Yes, their lives have become this circumscribed. — Lisa Kennedy, Variety, 31 Jan. 2026

Thompson-Hernández acknowledges that while Watts might be a small community, a relative sliver of greater Los Angeles, imagination flourishes in the most circumscribed places. — Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 29 Jan. 2026

Joan understands that their circumscribed lives now give their eternity its meaning. — Jp Mangalindan, Time, 26 Nov. 2025

In reality, as for most visiting celebrities, her itinerary was narrowly circumscribed. — Zak Cheney-Rice, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2025

While Swift’s life is extraordinary, it’s also cloistered by wealth and celebrity; perhaps the range of feelings she’s allowed to experience has become circumscribed. — Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025

Barrett understood its more circumscribed project. — Stefan Fatsis, The Atlantic, 13 Sep. 2025

Verb

Representatives from hostile states like Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea are circumscribed in their movements, typically limited to a small radius around their official posts—an embassy, a consulate, a permanent mission to the UN. — Adam Ciralsky, Vanity Fair, 19 Mar. 2026

Eventually, the area in the Pentagon where reporters were allowed was circumscribed to a single corridor outside the press room – even though the public affairs officers who worked most closely with reporters were in an office on the other side of the 6½-million-square-foot building. — Kathy Kiely, The Conversation, 17 Mar. 2026

Under the Constitution, the concept of a militia is a specific and narrowly circumscribed one. — Larry Pino, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Feb. 2026

But the apartheid regime became a police state that heavily circumscribed its white citizens’ lives, too. — Eve Fairbanks, The Dial, 27 Jan. 2026

No matter their financial situation, these characters are circumscribed by their situations (class, responsibilities, families) and desire more—or something else entirely. — Diana Arterian, Literary Hub, 15 Jan. 2026

Their sovereign capacity to realign is circumscribed by the very architectures that protect them. — Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Time, 15 Jan. 2026

Only one major financial institution is currently investing in a presence downtown, defined as the area circumscribed by I-35, I-30, I-45 and Woodall Rogers Freeway. — Sasha Richie, Dallas Morning News, 9 Jan. 2026

Each of Cicellis’s young protagonists arrives at the grim realization that their life is circumscribed not by a god but by the pull of obligation to an undeserving parent or mentor. — Rachel Vorona Cote, The Atlantic, 5 Jan. 2026