Meaning & use
circumvention
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Meanings
noununcountableformal
The act of avoiding a rule, law, or problem by using a clever or indirect method.
Grammar: Uncountable; used in formal or legal contexts. Often followed by 'of': circumvention of the rules.
Patterns
- circumvention of something
- the circumvention of rules/laws
The new tax was designed to prevent the circumvention of existing laws.
Critics accused the company of the circumvention of safety regulations.
The circumvention of international sanctions is a serious crime.
nouncountable
A specific instance or method of getting around a restriction or obstacle.
Grammar: Countable; often used with 'a' or in the plural: a clever circumvention, various circumventions.
Patterns
- a circumvention of something
- circumventions of the law
The software update was a circumvention of the ban on certain features.
They found a legal circumvention that allowed them to continue.
Such circumventions are difficult to detect.
Common combinations
- circumvention of the law
- The lawyer specialized in the circumvention of the law for wealthy clients.
- tax circumvention
- Tax circumvention schemes are illegal and can lead to heavy fines.
- circumvention techniques
- Hackers use various circumvention techniques to bypass security.
- prevent circumvention
- The new measures aim to prevent circumvention of the embargo.
Synonyms and how they differ
- evasion
- Evasion often implies avoiding something completely, especially in a dishonest way, while circumvention focuses on finding a way around a rule without directly breaking it.
- avoidance
- Avoidance is a general term for staying away from something; circumvention is more specific to bypassing a rule or obstacle.
Opposites
Word family
- circumvent verb
- To find a way around a rule or problem.
- circumventive adjective
- Rare; relating to circumvention.
Commonly confused: circumvention or circumspection?
circumvention vs circumspection
Circumspection means carefulness and caution; circumvention means avoiding rules. They sound similar but have very different meanings.
Practice
The company was fined for the ________ of environmental regulations.
Choose one answer.
The sentence requires a noun meaning 'avoiding a rule'. 'Circumvention' fits. 'Circumstance' means a fact or condition; 'circumspection' means caution; 'circumference' is the distance around a circle.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “circumvention”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.