GOT AROUND Synonyms: 184 Similar and Opposite Words

got around

verb

past tense of get around

as in defeated

to achieve a victory over somehow, an inexperienced lawyer managed to get around the media giant's stable of high-priced legal eagles

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as in circumvented

to avoid having to comply with (something) especially through cleverness somehow she managed to get around the rules for paying the sales tax on a car bought out of state

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as in spread

to become known word of the discovery of gold quickly got around

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as in avoided

to get or keep away from (as a responsibility) through cleverness or trickery their lawyer has spent months trying to get around certain restrictions in the contract

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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 got around When word got around, more famous people started popping in, Delany says. — Sam Kashner, Vanity Fair, 12 Oct. 2026 Although the city, bound by a freakishly heavy snowfall and bitter cold, was hard to traverse, Dylan, now with plenty of time on his hands, got around. — Sean Wilentz, Rolling Stone, 6 Oct. 2026 Notre Dame responded to Jefferson's big play with a 17-play, 75-yard drive lasting more than nine minutes by the time Carr got around the right side for a fourth-down TD keeper. — ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026 Alcott, Bekker, and their colleagues got around that limitation with a new technique that separates phosphorus according to the type of mineral it is bound to. — Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 3 Oct. 2026 Two weeks after its short run ended, word got around, and Jaques received an out-of-the blue call from Sky’s then managing director of content (and later CEO of Sky Studios) Gary Davey, inviting him in for a chat. — Alex Ritman, Variety, 18 Sep. 2026 When word got around this week that the North Collins Street restaurant might be closing after 37 years, friends rallied around Airways and gave it a business boost to keep it around through Dallas Cowboys football season. — Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Sep. 2026 The gender data gap did not close because medicine finally got around to it. — Geri Stengel, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026 Capital One got around federal limits on swipe fees by buying Discover’s card network; other banks complained, then went out looking for their own loophole. — Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 7 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for got around

Verb

In the northwest suburban 8th District, Krishnamoorthi will hand the seat back to fellow centrist Melissa Bean, who also defeated more progressive candidates in the primary.

— Olivia Olander, Chicago Tribune, 8 Nov. 2026
Pulido defeated Republican incumbent Monica De La Cruz, who took jabs at his showbiz background during her campaign.

— Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 8 Nov. 2026

Definition of defeated

Verb

Ballmer and the Clippers are serving vast penalties after the NBA determined the team circumvented the salary cap to steer funds to star Kawhi Leonard.

— Mirjam Swanson, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
The sides agreed to that trade in late June but didn't complete it until earlier this month, delaying the process because of the NBA's investigation into whether the Clippers circumvented salary cap rules on Leonard's behalf.

— ABC News, ABC News, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of circumvented

Verb

The FactPostNews accounts gained millions of new followers and billions of impressions across platforms, and the organization largely avoided becoming a story itself after fumbling the release of its 2024 autopsy report.

— Max Tani, semafor.com, 9 Nov. 2026
Not long ago, broadcasters avoided even a hint of gambling conversation.

— New Yorker, New Yorker, 8 Nov. 2026

Definition of avoided

Verb

After decades of anchoring the morning news, Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos have mastered the art of waking up early.

— Yamillah Hurtado, PEOPLE, 5 Nov. 2026
Pink Floyd is notorious for not having professionally recorded very many, if any, concerts in the mid- and late ’70s, but this bootleg is said to have mixed and mastered to a level close enough to pro standards for an official release.

— Chris Willman, Variety, 5 Nov. 2026

Definition of mastered

Verb

John, whose descendants remember him as savvy and tenacious, evaded the racist federal ban on Chinese immigrants by assuming a new identity.

— Gaby Del Valle, The Verge, 29 Oct. 2026
On his lone touchdown pass, Mayfield escaped Carolina pressure, evaded to the right, and threw it on the run, off his back foot, all while leaning back.

— Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of evaded

Verb

Three women inmates escaped a transport van in the midst of the fire chaos, and Mickey needed her troops to find the missing convicts instead of helping with the fire.

— Megan Vick, Variety, 7 Nov. 2026
Stayner first became notable as the older brother of Steven Stayner, who escaped a 1972 kidnapping in 1980.

— Leigh Egan, FOXNews.com, 7 Nov. 2026