cir·cum·vent\|sərkəm|vent, |sə̄k-, |səik-\
transitive verb(
-ed/-ing/-s)
Etymology: Latin
circumventus, past participle of
circumvenire to surround, afflict, cheat, from
circum- + venire to come — more at
come
1. a. : to surround and cut off the escape of
: hem in and capture
< circumvented by the enemy, he had to yield > b. : encircle
: form a circling boundary around
< little islands circumvented by a river > c. : to encompass with evils, difficulties, or enemies
< the melodrama's heroine circumvented with perils > d. : to go around
: make a full circuit around or bypass without going through
< a lake allows an average father, walking slowly, to circumvent it in an afternoon — W.H.Auden > < an alternative path, circumventing Kentucky through the states to its north — New Republic >2. : to overcome or avoid the intent, effect, or force of
: anticipate and escape, check, or defeat by ingenuity or stratagem
: make inoperative or nullify the purpose or power of especially by craft or scheme
< circumventing his enemies by craft and driving them out … by force — P.N.Ure > < rules which they circumvent or openly violate — Jerome Frank >Synonyms: see frustrate