circumscribe
verb
transitive verb
Did you know?
Circumscribe has a lot of relatives in English. Its Latin predecessor circumscribere (which roughly translates as "to draw a circle around") derives 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. Circumscribe was first recorded in the 15th century; it was originally spelled circumscrive, but by the end of the century the circumscribe spelling had also appeared.
Synonyms
- cap
- confine
- hold down
- limit
- restrict
Example Sentences
Chelsea Sheasley, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 June 2022 This record is unsurprising given the Supreme Court’s 1980 opinion in Industrial Union Dept. AFL-CIO v. American Petroleum Institute, which held that Congress originally intended to narrowly circumscribe the authority to issue ETSs. Joel Zinberg, National Review, 14 Sep. 2021 All those very much circumscribe their ability to thrive. Karin Wulf, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Mar. 2021 Still, the careful effort to circumscribe the retaliatory operation risks leaving the impression that Biden opted for a political strike rather than a substantive punishment. Joel Gehrke, Washington Examiner, 26 Feb. 2021 This is the effect of her books, too, in which vast, inhuman forces circumscribe her characters’ most personal experiences. Alice Gregory, The New Yorker, 9 Nov. 2020 SuperBalls became the darlings of physics professors, who took them to classes and circumscribed their bounces in equations and matrices at just the moment when cheap Zectron knockoffs were hitting gumball machines worldwide. New York Times, 3 Apr. 2020 Contempt for Congress flourishes alongside an increasingly common belief among both Republicans and Democrats that the presidency is the main engine of government, rather than an office whose power was deliberately circumscribed by the Constitution. Fergus M. Bordewich, Time, 21 Feb. 2020 The election results will also affect the make-up of the committees, tightly circumscribed by Beijing, which every five years choose the chief executive. The Economist, 21 Nov. 2019 See More Word History
Middle English circumscriven, from Latin circumscribere, from circum- + scribere to write, draw — more at scribe
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
circumscribe
verb
Synonyms & Similar Words
- limit
- restrict
- confine
- tighten
- cap
- narrow
- hinder
- impede
- obstruct
- block
- modify
- hold down
- suppress
- hamper
- constrict
- repress
- lessen
- bar
- squeeze
- contract
- number
- quell
- pinch
- qualify
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- expand
- broaden
- exceed
- widen
- overextend
- overreach
Synonyms & Similar Words
- define
- delimit
- demarcate
- limit
- bound
- describe
- demark
- govern
- terminate
- delineate
- control
- mark (off)
- determine
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of circumscribe are confine, limit, and restrict. While all these words mean "to set bounds for," circumscribe stresses a restriction on all sides and by clearly defined boundaries.
Although the words confine and circumscribe have much in common, confine suggests severe restraint and a resulting cramping, fettering, or hampering.
While in some cases nearly identical to circumscribe, limit implies setting a point or line (as in time, space, speed, or degree) beyond which something cannot or is not permitted to go.
The words restrict and circumscribe can be used in similar contexts, but restrict suggests a narrowing or tightening or restraining within or as if within an encircling boundary.