Circumscribe
verb
To draw a line around something, to mark off a space.
We will circumscribe the area with a chalk marking.
Often appears as...
- circumscribe the area
- circumscribe a circle
verb
To limit or restrict something closely.
The law was designed to circumscribe the power of a single governmental institution.
Often appears as...
- circumscribe the power
- circumscribe the authority
Usage tips
Formal
Academic
verb
In geometry, to draw a figure around another in such a way that it touches all its vertices.
In geometry class, we learned how to circumscribe a circle around a triangle.
Often appears as...
- circumscribe a circle
- circumscribe a square
Usage tips
Technical
verb
To draw a line around something, to mark off a space.
We will circumscribe the area with a chalk marking.
Often appears as...
- circumscribe the area
- circumscribe a circle
verb
To limit or restrict something closely.
The law was designed to circumscribe the power of a single governmental institution.
Often appears as...
- circumscribe the power
- circumscribe the authority
Usage tips
Formal
Academic
verb
In geometry, to draw a figure around another in such a way that it touches all its vertices.
In geometry class, we learned how to circumscribe a circle around a triangle.
Often appears as...
- circumscribe a circle
- circumscribe a square
Usage tips
Technical
Definition 1 of 3
Pro Tip 1/3Visual Imagery
Imagine drawing a literal boundary to better understand the concept of 'circumscribe'.
The children were told to circumscribe their play area in the sandbox.
Pro Tip 2/3Physical Space
Think of 'circumscribe' as creating a physical, visible limit around something.
Use stones to circumscribe the campsite to keep animals out.
Pro Tip 3/3Exclusive Area
'Circumscribe' can imply an area is exclusive or reserved for a specific purpose.
The ritual space was circumscribed by sacred symbols.
Pro Tip 1/3Visual Imagery
Imagine drawing a literal boundary to better understand the concept of 'circumscribe'.
The children were told to circumscribe their play area in the sandbox.
Pro Tip 2/3Physical Space
Think of 'circumscribe' as creating a physical, visible limit around something.
Use stones to circumscribe the campsite to keep animals out.
Pro Tip 3/3Exclusive Area
'Circumscribe' can imply an area is exclusive or reserved for a specific purpose.
The ritual space was circumscribed by sacred symbols.
Pro Tip 1/3Visual Imagery
Imagine drawing a literal boundary to better understand the concept of 'circumscribe'.
The children were told to circumscribe their play area in the sandbox.
Pro Tip 2/3Physical Space
Think of 'circumscribe' as creating a physical, visible limit around something.
Use stones to circumscribe the campsite to keep animals out.
Pro Tip 3/3Exclusive Area
'Circumscribe' can imply an area is exclusive or reserved for a specific purpose.
The ritual space was circumscribed by sacred symbols.
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Video examples
Hot Spring and Swans in...
western edge of the Ring of Fire it's that famous line that circumscribes in Pacific and those were actually gave birth to these islands it's actually much more known for its destructive power just before I came to live here the famous Hanshin earthquake killed thousands of people and pretty much raised the whole city of kobane nowadays
Video examples
Jared Diamond: How...
that older people are better at doing. Some abilities, of course, decrease with age. Those include abilities at tasks requiring physical strength and stamina, ambition, and the power of novel reasoning in a circumscribed situation,
Video examples
Hot Spring and Swans in...
western edge of the Ring of Fire it's that famous line that circumscribes in Pacific and those were actually gave birth to these islands it's actually much more known for its destructive power just before I came to live here the famous Hanshin earthquake killed thousands of people and pretty much raised the whole city of kobane nowadays
Video examples
Jared Diamond: How...
that older people are better at doing. Some abilities, of course, decrease with age. Those include abilities at tasks requiring physical strength and stamina, ambition, and the power of novel reasoning in a circumscribed situation,
Example 1 of 2
Quote examples
Nick Hornby
English Writer
It seems to me quite often that the journeys of young women are more moving because they are hemmed in more, and dramatically it's more interesting to think about and write about people whose lives are circumscribed in some way.
Quote examples
Julian Fellowes
English Actor
I like people who don't accept boundaries. Like Florence Nightingale. And Napoleon or Louis XIV, though I'm not sure how much I'd have liked to meet them. I admire people who aren't circumscribed by circumstance.
Quote examples
Willem de Kooning
American Artist
Whatever an artist's personal feelings are, as soon as an artist fills a certain area on the canvas or circumscribes it, he becomes historical. He acts from or upon other artists.
Quote examples
Augustus Sol Invictus
American Activist
To circumscribe our freedom of thought because of the delicate sensibilities of suburban paper pushers is the most despicable type of totalitarian tyranny imaginable.
Quote examples
Evan Osnos
American Journalist
For much of their history, life for most people in China was arduous and circumscribed - and people travelled as little as they could.
Quote examples
Frances Wright
Scottish Writer
It is in vain that we would circumscribe the power of one half of our race, and that half by far the most important and influential.
Quote examples
Carol Gilligan
American Psychologist
Certain issues have been associated with contemporary feminism and in a certain sense circumscribed for that reason.
Quote examples
Haniel Long
American Author
Certainly there are great men whose age circumscribes them so completely that we lose interest.
Quote examples
Samuel Richardson
English Novelist
The laws were not made so much for the direction of good men, as to circumscribe the bad.
Quote examples
Scott McCloud
American Cartoonist
Webcomics are much bigger than any one scene can circumscribe.
Quote examples
Nick Hornby
English Writer
It seems to me quite often that the journeys of young women are more moving because they are hemmed in more, and dramatically it's more interesting to think about and write about people whose lives are circumscribed in some way.
Quote examples
Julian Fellowes
English Actor
I like people who don't accept boundaries. Like Florence Nightingale. And Napoleon or Louis XIV, though I'm not sure how much I'd have liked to meet them. I admire people who aren't circumscribed by circumstance.
Quote examples
Willem de Kooning
American Artist
Whatever an artist's personal feelings are, as soon as an artist fills a certain area on the canvas or circumscribes it, he becomes historical. He acts from or upon other artists.
Quote examples
Augustus Sol Invictus
American Activist
To circumscribe our freedom of thought because of the delicate sensibilities of suburban paper pushers is the most despicable type of totalitarian tyranny imaginable.
Quote examples
Evan Osnos
American Journalist
For much of their history, life for most people in China was arduous and circumscribed - and people travelled as little as they could.
Quote examples
Frances Wright
Scottish Writer
It is in vain that we would circumscribe the power of one half of our race, and that half by far the most important and influential.
Quote examples
Carol Gilligan
American Psychologist
Certain issues have been associated with contemporary feminism and in a certain sense circumscribed for that reason.
Quote examples
Haniel Long
American Author
Certainly there are great men whose age circumscribes them so completely that we lose interest.
Quote examples
Samuel Richardson
English Novelist
The laws were not made so much for the direction of good men, as to circumscribe the bad.
Quote examples
Scott McCloud
American Cartoonist
Webcomics are much bigger than any one scene can circumscribe.
Example 1 of 10
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