Did you
know?

circumvent
verb

- to avoid something, especially cleverly or illegally

(Cambridge Dictionary)

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Circumvent stems from the Latin "circum," meaning around or round about, and vent which derives from the Latin "venire" meaning to come. Imagine going around an obstacle or hurdle instead of over it and you'll easily understand how the term circumvent developed.

You can circumvent something tangible such as a traffic jam for instance. Impatient shoppers sometimes irritate others by circumventing the check-out line at the supermarket and jumping to the front. Or criminals might find a way to circumvent a police roadblock or a security system.

Circumvent is often used in more of a figurative sense to describe getting around or avoiding rules, regulations and laws. People who hide money in accounts in other countries are circumventing the tax laws in their own country as an example. But circumventing a rule or regulation isn't always illegal. It might simply be smart.

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SYNONYMS

avoid, bypass, dodge, elude, evade, get around, skirt

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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation

"People who circumvent tax laws, eventually get caught."