sidesteps

verb

present tense third-person singular of sidestep
1
as in circumvents
to avoid having to comply with (something) especially through cleverness the eager enlistee sidestepped the regulations by lying about his age

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in weaves
to move suddenly aside or to and fro the startled spectator sidestepped away from the oncoming ball

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 sidesteps The delay leaves unpopular Palestinian Authority leaders in place and sidesteps a potential opposition alliance, as Palestinians have not voted in a legislative election since Hamas won in 2006. — Sam Metz, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026 Richard sidesteps that question by emphasizing the intimacy of her blends rather than their novelty. — Stephen Kearse, Pitchfork, 9 Oct. 2026 Doing so sidesteps the higher yields on longer tenors but increases refinancing risks. — Greg Ritchie, Fortune, 13 Aug. 2026 By working through employers, Addition Wealth sidesteps the brutal customer acquisition costs that have undermined most direct-to-consumer fintech plays and gains access to the data that makes guidance genuinely personal. — Geri Stengel, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026 Colom mostly sidesteps Mississippi history or electoral math unless asked. — ABC News, 7 Aug. 2026 The Azizuddin Brothers have spent the better part of a decade making work that sidesteps genre convention and mainstream expectation. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 5 Aug. 2026 Most polls have him in second place in his own party behind Memphis councilwoman Jerri Green, but his presence in the race at all is notable for a genre that generally sidesteps politics altogether. — Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 4 Aug. 2026 This completely sidesteps current debates plaguing Medicare Part B — namely, rapidly mounting medication spending has driven higher premiums and out-of-pocket payments for beneficiaries. — Pooja Yerramilli, STAT, 24 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sidesteps
  1. circumvents
  2. weaves
  3. avoids
  4. dodges
  5. evades
  6. ducks
  7. bypasses
  8. ignores
Verb
  • Saudi Arabia's crucial East-West pipeline that circumvents the Strait of Hormuz is pumping oil at its full capacity of 7 million barrels a day, according to a person familiar with the matter.
    — Sam Meredith, CNBC, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Additionally, because the $50 co-payment circumvents Part D, the amount doesn’t count toward a beneficiary’s annual deductible or out-of-pocket maximum.
    — Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
Definition of circumvents
Verb
  • The track weaves together experiences of colonialism, trauma, and resistance, with the innocence of childhood as a backdrop.
    — Vanessa Diaz, Rolling Stone, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Spain’s Oscar submission weaves Federico García Lorca’s unfinished play into a story that spans generations.
    — Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of weaves
Verb
  • This game may come down to whichever team controls the clock and avoids turnovers.
    — David Troy OutKick, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Setting the shifting moods expertly is Michael Giacchino’s score that nicely avoids the clichés of the genre(s) while still honoring them.
    — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of avoids
Verb
  • Baksheng leaves behind a family and then creates a new one with other Teochew emigrants at an inn run by a feminist daughter, Zia Lamgi (Li Sitong) who dodges a revolving door of suitors.
    — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 3 Sep. 2026
  • West Orange dodges a huge bullet as Hoban’s John Johnson drops a wide open pass that would’ve been an 80 yard touchdown.
    — Buddy Collings, The Orlando Sentinel, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of dodges
Verb
  • Neither of those interpretations would be entirely invalid, exactly, and yet The Basics of Philosophy — ironically enough, given its title — mostly evades any such moral didacticism.
    — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Journalists and negotiators follow up when someone evades the point.
    — Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business Review, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of evades
Verb
  • In the video, the subject ducks his head in the opposite direction of the doorbell camera.
    — Michael Ruiz , Adam Sabes , Christina Dugan Ramirez , Sarah Rumpf-Whitten , Julia Bonavita , Peter D'Abrosca , Alexandra Koch , Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 3 Feb. 2026
  • The sun ducks down and sets Conejo Mountain against warm pinks and purples, transforming the ridgeline into an epic silhouette.
    — Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
Definition of ducks
Verb
  • The use of global depositary receipts (GDRs), which allow backers to buy a stake in a foreign company without leaving their home market, bypasses regulatory barriers that have held up intra-African investment.
    — semafor.com, semafor.com, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Because mRNA technology bypasses the slow process of growing viruses in eggs, mRNA manufacturing allows for later influenza strain selection and fast production, unlike traditional vaccines.
    — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of bypasses
Verb
  • Any strategy that ignores that skepticism is unlikely to survive the next election or to be funded by the Congress that is likely to emerge from it.
    — Philip H. Gordon, Foreign Affairs, 12 Oct. 2026
  • But the unbridled embrace of aquaculture as a sustainable answer to feeding the planet ignores some very real costs.
    — Ian Urbina, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of ignores

Browse Nearby Words

sidestepping
sidesteps
side street
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Cite this Entry

“Sidesteps.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sidesteps. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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