1
as in to circumvent
to avoid having to comply with (something) especially through cleverness
the eager enlistee sidestepped the regulations by lying about his age
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sidestep
The ultra-discreet visualization of Agnes’s assault is merely one respect in which the film sidesteps the usual strategies of so much trauma fiction.
—
Justin Chang, New Yorker, 20 June 2025
The White House sidestepped a question on whether Trump could seek regime change in Iran.
—Jonathan Easley, The Hill, 19 June 2025
This consumer-first model sidesteps the bureaucracy of U.S. healthcare.
—Stephen Wunker, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
The digital snapshot approach sidesteps these limitations entirely.
—Roger Dooley, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for sidestep
Justin Chang, New Yorker, 20 June 2025
The White House sidestepped a question on whether Trump could seek regime change in Iran.
—Jonathan Easley, The Hill, 19 June 2025
This consumer-first model sidesteps the bureaucracy of U.S. healthcare.
—Stephen Wunker, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
The digital snapshot approach sidesteps these limitations entirely.
—Roger Dooley, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for sidestep
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sidestep
Verb
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The case highlighted how independent voices can circumvent the gatekeeping position of corporate media and rally the public.—
Tom Blakely,
Boston Herald,
27 June 2025
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There’s no surefire way to keep AI companies from scraping news websites; even the Robots Exclusion Protocol, the standard opt-out method available to news publishers, is easily circumvented.—
Alex Reisner,
The Atlantic,
25 June 2025
Verb
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The Foundation’s long-term roadmap weaves three strands—education, technology, and policy—into a single braid of change.—
Nia Bowers,
USA Today,
30 June 2025
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The deeper issue is the steady, often unnoticed disruption of noise woven into every part of life, at home, work, and our social environments.—
Bill Schiffmiller,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
Verb
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Without an aisle, the box occupants must seat themselves in order from front to back to avoid climbing over one another.—
Judith Martin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
30 June 2025
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Don’t say Discovery The language in the Senate bill avoids any mention of the Smithsonian, Space Center Houston, Discovery, or even the space shuttle.—
Robert Pearlman,
ArsTechnica,
30 June 2025
Verb
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The recording of an internet livestream of the church service, which shows people ducking and running out of the room, is genuine, police said.—
Tim Stelloh,
NBC news,
23 June 2025
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Many of them duck into his establishment before or after shows for food, drink and atmosphere.—
Annika Merrilees,
Sacbee.com,
19 June 2025
Verb
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Cochran drove in a manner that indicated to Taylor that the sheriff was trying to evade him, Welch said.—
Joe Marusak,
Charlotte Observer,
28 June 2025
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Last year, the Russians began including decoy drones with their Shahed drones to increase the likelihood of evading Ukrainian defenses.—
Vikram Mittal,
Forbes.com,
28 June 2025
Verb
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Multiple federal health officials said planning has been ongoing for the next steps of the reorganization and merger, even as Kennedy has cited the court rulings as a reason to dodge questions about the restructuring on Capitol Hill.—
Alexander Tin,
CBS News,
1 July 2025
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This game has faster, more aggressive combat that pushes the focus onto dodging rather than parrying, which should lead to some very different – and likely very difficult – combat.—
Oliver Brandt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 June 2025
Verb
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My team was supposed to do the landing on the moon, of course that got bypassed pretty fast.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
30 June 2025
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His warlike actions in Iran, despite campaign promises to the contrary, blatantly bypassed the need to gain approval from the legislative branch of government.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
29 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sidestep.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sidestep. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.
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