CIRCUMSCRIBED Synonyms: 130 Similar and Opposite Words

circumscribed 1 of 2

adjective

as in limited

having distinct or certain limits the powers of that state's governor are so sharply circumscribed that often his hands are tied by the state legislature

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circumscribed

2 of 2

verb

past tense of circumscribe

as in restricted

to set bounds or an upper limit for circumscribed his enthusiasm so as not to make the losing side feel worse

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in defined

to mark the limits of Lake Michigan circumscribes the city of Chicago on the east

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of circumscribed

Adjective

Yes, their lives have become this circumscribed. — Lisa Kennedy, Variety, 31 Jan. 2026 There’s a circumscribed way to open the soju bottle, a correct way to pour and drink. — Joan MacDonald, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025 Joan understands that their circumscribed lives now give their eternity its meaning. — Jp Mangalindan, Time, 26 Nov. 2025 Barrett understood its more circumscribed project. — Stefan Fatsis, The Atlantic, 13 Sep. 2025 Signs will redirect cyclists around the circumscribed area, requiring them in some cases to take winding alternative routes. — Rachel Swan, San Francisco Chronicle, 6 Feb. 2026 In reality, as for most visiting celebrities, her itinerary was narrowly circumscribed. — Zak Cheney-Rice, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2025 While Swift’s life is extraordinary, it’s also cloistered by wealth and celebrity; perhaps the range of feelings she’s allowed to experience has become circumscribed. — Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025 Thompson-Hernández acknowledges that while Watts might be a small community, a relative sliver of greater Los Angeles, imagination flourishes in the most circumscribed places. — Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 29 Jan. 2026

Verb

But the apartheid regime became a police state that heavily circumscribed its white citizens’ lives, too. — Eve Fairbanks, The Dial, 27 Jan. 2026 Their sovereign capacity to realign is circumscribed by the very architectures that protect them. — Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Time, 15 Jan. 2026 Under the Constitution, the concept of a militia is a specific and narrowly circumscribed one. — Larry Pino, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Feb. 2026 Each of Cicellis’s young protagonists arrives at the grim realization that their life is circumscribed not by a god but by the pull of obligation to an undeserving parent or mentor. — Rachel Vorona Cote, The Atlantic, 5 Jan. 2026 No matter their financial situation, these characters are circumscribed by their situations (class, responsibilities, families) and desire more—or something else entirely. — Diana Arterian, Literary Hub, 15 Jan. 2026 Eventually, the area in the Pentagon where reporters were allowed was circumscribed to a single corridor outside the press room – even though the public affairs officers who worked most closely with reporters were in an office on the other side of the 6½-million-square-foot building. — Kathy Kiely, The Conversation, 17 Mar. 2026 Only one major financial institution is currently investing in a presence downtown, defined as the area circumscribed by I-35, I-30, I-45 and Woodall Rogers Freeway. — Sasha Richie, Dallas Morning News, 9 Jan. 2026 Representatives from hostile states like Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea are circumscribed in their movements, typically limited to a small radius around their official posts—an embassy, a consulate, a permanent mission to the UN. — Adam Ciralsky, Vanity Fair, 19 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for circumscribed

Adjective

The department’s limited release of materials prompted outcry and lawsuits from people saying the department was acting to protect rich and powerful people mentioned in the files.

— Aysha Bagchi, USA Today, 3 July 2026
But the Idaho side never found the back of the net again while Knoxville proved lethally efficient with its limited opportunities.

— Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 3 July 2026

Definition of limited

Verb

Size representation on the runway this season was defined by a more fragmented set of ideals.

— Amy Francombe, Vogue, 6 July 2026
Remarkably, in a game defined by the South American team’s lack of sportsmanship, this became the first World Cup game in which a Paraguay player did not receive a yellow card since 1998.

— Adam Crafton, New York Times, 5 July 2026

Definition of defined

Adjective

Its designs were suited to its urban New England market — three stories high with a narrow footprint.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026
Sheer rock walls loom on one side, while the other, which is largely unguarded, plunges to the narrow canyon below.

— Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 7 July 2026

Definition of narrow

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“Circumscribed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/circumscribed. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of circumscribed

adjective

verb

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