1
as in circumvented
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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Recent Examples of sidestepped
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who cannot publicly comment on elections as a federal government employee because of the Hatch Act, sidestepped questions on Tuesday regarding why Trump is traveling to Massie’s district.
—
Naomi Lim, The Washington Examiner, 11 Mar. 2026
Leaders at University of Florida’s law school sidestepped internal rules to rush Attorney General James Uthmeier into a part-time teaching role, granting unusual leeway to a politically powerful adjunct earning a $100,000 salary.
—Garrett Shanley, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2026
Yale has largely sidestepped the churn reshaping college athletics.
—Ira Gorawara, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2026
Later that year, Kiley sidestepped a question from The Bee asking if former President Joe Biden was legitimately elected.
—Mathew Miranda, Sacbee.com, 28 Feb. 2026
The coalition of mostly Democratic states argues Kennedy’s moves sidestepped the advisory committee, scientific analyses and the existing legal framework to create recommendations.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2026
Much of the rest of the state has sidestepped that bottleneck by using NY HELPS, a state program that lets agencies fill many positions without exams.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 20 Feb. 2026
The move came shortly after a report in The Wall Street Journal about the complaint's existence, following months of delay that has prompted questions about whether political considerations held up action and sidestepped oversight of a complaint involving the nation's top intelligence official.
—Michael Kaplan, CBS News, 8 Feb. 2026
Still, Jordan sidestepped the idea that customers could be turned off by the raft of higher fees and fares, instead emphasizing that the discount airline was offering more options.
—Dallas Morning News, 28 Jan. 2026
Naomi Lim, The Washington Examiner, 11 Mar. 2026
Leaders at University of Florida’s law school sidestepped internal rules to rush Attorney General James Uthmeier into a part-time teaching role, granting unusual leeway to a politically powerful adjunct earning a $100,000 salary.
—Garrett Shanley, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2026
Yale has largely sidestepped the churn reshaping college athletics.
—Ira Gorawara, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2026
Later that year, Kiley sidestepped a question from The Bee asking if former President Joe Biden was legitimately elected.
—Mathew Miranda, Sacbee.com, 28 Feb. 2026
The coalition of mostly Democratic states argues Kennedy’s moves sidestepped the advisory committee, scientific analyses and the existing legal framework to create recommendations.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2026
Much of the rest of the state has sidestepped that bottleneck by using NY HELPS, a state program that lets agencies fill many positions without exams.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 20 Feb. 2026
The move came shortly after a report in The Wall Street Journal about the complaint's existence, following months of delay that has prompted questions about whether political considerations held up action and sidestepped oversight of a complaint involving the nation's top intelligence official.
—Michael Kaplan, CBS News, 8 Feb. 2026
Still, Jordan sidestepped the idea that customers could be turned off by the raft of higher fees and fares, instead emphasizing that the discount airline was offering more options.
—Dallas Morning News, 28 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sidestepped
Verb
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Nessel's office alleges that Kalshi has circumvented Michigan's gambling laws by offering users to trade contracts based on whether specific events will happen, acting and operating like a gambling platform and should be subject to the same state laws that other online gaming apps are.—
Jalen Williams,
Freep.com,
6 Mar. 2026
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But the spending measure supervisors approved on Tuesday circumvented that vote threshold.—
Lucas Robinson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Cabot immediately covered her face and turned away from the camera, while a stunned Byron ducked down and exited the frame.—
Lauryn Overhultz,
FOXNews.com,
17 Mar. 2026
-
Patrons ducked under available coverage to keep their tacos and arepas dry.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
China Tehran has largely avoided targeting ships linked to China.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
18 Mar. 2026
-
More practical encryption schemes avoided the need for in-person meetings but relied on unproven assumptions about the difficulty of certain math problems.—
Ben Brubaker,
Quanta Magazine,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The ball fell to Ludmila, who evaded her defender and fired a shot toward goal, but the attempt sailed upward.—
Fernando Ramirez,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Mar. 2026
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Cheaply produced one-way Iranian attack drones have successfully evaded billion-dollar air defense systems.—
Laura Kelly,
The Hill,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Maas answered some, dodged others, and dropped a few hints that will fuel months of new speculation.—
Hanna Wickes,
Miami Herald,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Depth forward Nathan Bastian ended up with the puck wide open in the slot, dodged Predators goaltender Juuse Saros and scored his fourth goal of the season.—
Lia Assimakopoulos,
Dallas Morning News,
1 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Large countries with strong militaries could impart their will on smaller ones; institutions were to be bypassed and weakened, freeing superpowers to act.—
Joshua Yaffa,
New Yorker,
11 Mar. 2026
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But critics have questioned why the lease extension bypassed the council’s Economic Development Committee, and why no appraisal was done of the 124 acres the zoo controls in northwestern Balboa Park.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Meanwhile, transgender rights advocates say the voices and the views of students have been ignored.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Mar. 2026
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Sterlin Harjo has expanded the possibilities of television with work that is both deeply personal and culturally groundbreaking, with overdue stories and voices Americans have long ignored.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
18 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sidestepped.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sidestepped. Accessed 20 Mar. 2026.
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