adjective
Other Word Forms
- circumspection noun
- circumspective adjective
- circumspectly adverb
- circumspectness noun
- noncircumspect adjective
- noncircumspectness noun
- overcircumspect adjective
- uncircumspect adjective
- uncircumspectness noun
Etymology
Origin of circumspect
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin circumspectus (past participle of circumspicere “to look around”), equivalent to circum- “around, about” ( circum- ) + spec(ere) “to look” + -tus past participle suffix
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
On the streets of Beijing this week, locals were circumspect about a visit from the US president.
From Barron's • Mar. 20, 2026
But they are more circumspect about those other requests, while saying they want to press on "at pace" in removing Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of succession.
From BBC • Feb. 24, 2026
Sitting on a boat floating off the shore, Holloway is more circumspect.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026
While publicly Kinnings is understandably cautious and circumspect about the future, the backers who lend their name to his tour are more outspoken.
From BBC • Nov. 17, 2025
Dr. Samuel Mudd, Samuel Arnold, and Michael O’Laughlen Thomas Jones, the man who helped John Wilkes Booth and David Herold escape into Virginia, was circumspect about his role in the assassination for many years.
From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
