circumscription
Americannoun
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an act or instance of circumscribing.
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circumscribed state; limitation.
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anything that circumscribes, surrounds, or encloses; boundary.
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periphery; outline.
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a circumscribed area.
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a circular inscription on a coin, seal, etc.
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limitation of a meaning; definition.
noun
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the act of circumscribing or the state of being circumscribed
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something that limits or encloses
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a circumscribed space
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an inscription around a coin or medal
Other Word Forms
- circumscriptive adjective
- circumscriptively adverb
- noncircumscriptive adjective
Etymology
Origin of circumscription
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin circumscrīptiōn- (stem of circumscrīptiō ), equivalent to circumscrīpt ( us ) (past participle of circumscrībere to circumscribe; circum-, script ) + -iōn- -ion
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.
That said, the impact of Mr. Cervas’s circumscription has already been profound, creating the likelihood of highly competitive general-election campaigns from Long Island to upstate New York.
From New York Times • May 28, 2022
It seemed to us," said the majority, "that an alternative recommendation would be possible, if we were allowed to exercise mature practical judgment without the rigid circumscription of regulations and criteria established for us.
From Time Magazine Archive
In Princess Elizabeth's life there was never any such grim circumscription.
From Time Magazine Archive
It is a better movie than it was a play, for the sequences showing the dissipations of very young and very rich characters do not suffer the stage's three-walled circumscription.
From Time Magazine Archive
Single outlines and contours, the choice of one particular section and the tracing of its circumscription, are means which the sculptor enjoys in common with the painter or draughtsman.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 3 "Fenton, Edward" to "Finistere" by Various
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.
