Word of the Day

: August 15, 2026

circumscribe

verb SER-kum-skrybe

What It Means

To circumscribe something is to limit its range or activity.

// The president’s decision-making power was carefully circumscribed by the company’s board.

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circumscribe in Context

“A mid-credits scene that shows Santos and Mel at a karaoke bar performing a duet ... might seem to be a throwaway. But it’s more like a glimmer of a happy ending. By blowing off steam together, Mel is forming an independent identity and Santos is finding a healthy outlet for her anger. This could be the first step, for both of them, towards escaping a life circumscribed by work …” — Judy Berman, Time, 16 Apr. 2026

Did You Know?

To circumscribe something is to limit its range or activity, but there is no circumscribing the range of influence the Latin ancestors of circumscribe have had. Circumscribe comes via Middle English from the Latin verb circumscribere (which roughly translates as “to draw a circle around”), which in turn comes from circum-, meaning “circle,” and scribere, meaning “to write or draw.” Among the many descendants of circum- are circuit, circumference, circumnavigate, circumspect, circumstance, and circumvent. Scribere gave us such words as scribe and scribble, as well as ascribe, describe, and transcribe, among others.