From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Circumvent \Cir`cum*vent"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Circumvented};
p. pr. & vb. n. {Circumventing}.] [L. circumventis, p. p. of
circumvenire, to come around, encompass, deceive; circum +
venire to come, akin to E. come.]
To gain advantage over by arts, stratagem, or deception; to
decieve; to delude; to get around.
[1913 Webster]
I circumvented whom I could not gain. --Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
circumvent
v 1: surround so as to force to give up; "The Turks besieged
Vienna" [syn: {besiege}, {beleaguer}, {surround}, {hem in},
{circumvent}]
2: beat through cleverness and wit; "I beat the traffic"; "She
outfoxed her competitors" [syn: {outwit}, {overreach},
{outsmart}, {outfox}, {beat}, {circumvent}]
3: avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing
(duties, questions, or issues); "He dodged the issue"; "she
skirted the problem"; "They tend to evade their
responsibilities"; "he evaded the questions skillfully" [syn:
{hedge}, {fudge}, {evade}, {put off}, {circumvent}, {parry},
{elude}, {skirt}, {dodge}, {duck}, {sidestep}]
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