|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