1
as in restriction
something that limits one's freedom of action or choice
such circumscriptions on the freedom of speech are antithetical to a free and open society
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2
as in limitation
the act or practice of keeping something (as an activity) within certain boundaries
electronic monitoring bracelets are sometimes used to impose a circumscription of movement on people awaiting trial
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Recent Examples of circumscription
Their circumscription, however, does not make Assad’s current priorities less dangerous.
—
Lina Khatib, Foreign Affairs, 17 Jan. 2020
Conditions explicitly accounted by our model include warfare, circumscription, variation in productivity between different local communities, ability to generate surpluses, ability to delegate power, and restrictions on the growth of polities due to scalar stress.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 20 Jan. 2011
That said, the impact of Mr. Cervas’s circumscription has already been profound, creating the likelihood of highly competitive general-election campaigns from Long Island to upstate New York.
—New York Times, 28 May 2022
Longtime readers of the site, though, have noted that the site no longer functions this way, in part because the Internet isn’t currently a space conducive to blinders and circumscription.
—Ross Scarano, Billboard, 6 May 2019
REM candidates made the second round in 453 circumscriptions and its MoDem allies qualified in another 62.
—Gregory Viscusi, Bloomberg.com, 18 June 2017
Lina Khatib, Foreign Affairs, 17 Jan. 2020
Conditions explicitly accounted by our model include warfare, circumscription, variation in productivity between different local communities, ability to generate surpluses, ability to delegate power, and restrictions on the growth of polities due to scalar stress.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 20 Jan. 2011
That said, the impact of Mr. Cervas’s circumscription has already been profound, creating the likelihood of highly competitive general-election campaigns from Long Island to upstate New York.
—New York Times, 28 May 2022
Longtime readers of the site, though, have noted that the site no longer functions this way, in part because the Internet isn’t currently a space conducive to blinders and circumscription.
—Ross Scarano, Billboard, 6 May 2019
REM candidates made the second round in 453 circumscriptions and its MoDem allies qualified in another 62.
—Gregory Viscusi, Bloomberg.com, 18 June 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for circumscription
Noun
-
Starting in the 1970s, home construction plummeted and prices soared in high-opportunity coastal cities because of restrictions on supply.—
Marina Bolotnikova,
Vox,
7 July 2025
-
The company said in a statement that inventory value adjustments and the impact of U.S. restrictions on advanced AI chips for China had contributed to the decline in profits.—
Dylan Butts,
CNBC,
7 July 2025
Noun
-
And that our natural limitations are not just physical, but also social and cognitive.—
Pia Lauritzen,
Forbes.com,
13 July 2025
-
Over the years, however, that limitation has been dropped.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
12 July 2025
Noun
-
Davis is a magnetic front man, and the Roadhouse Band is an intoxicatingly raucous live outfit, but the constraints of the setup suited his new material, which is suffused with listlessness and yearning, dark jokes and wordy disquisitions on desire.—
Amanda Petrusich,
New Yorker,
14 July 2025
-
The graphic novel format gave him the freedom to imagine without limitation—unbound by the logistical constraints of filmmaking.—
Okla Jones,
Essence,
14 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Circumscription.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/circumscription. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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