Circumscribe    (pronounced suhr-kum-skryb) verb


Definition

1. to limit narrowly; to confine within bounds; restrict.    2. to draw a line around; encircle.    3. to define or mark off the limits of.

Main Example

  • Is Osama bin Laden still actively leading al Qaeda? Unlikely, says President Musharraf. The latter recently told NBC that, thanks to intense surveillance by the U.S. and Pakistani military, "Osama's physical movements as well as his use of telecommunication devices" are so circumscribed that he can no longer effectively steer that terrorist network.

    Workplace Examples

  • I want to assure all of you that these new Monday morning meetings will be very short and circumscribed. I will not let them turn into long, drawn out affairs.

  • Funny thing, ever since he got a new boss, Mike seems to be everywhere: mingling freely in the cafeteria, working out in the fitness center, relaxing in the break area. He must have been awfully circumscribed under his previous overbearing manager.

    Other Examples

  • your saying: "Because of budget cuts, the CEO is not allowing use of any outside consultants except in certain limited and strictly circumscribed situations."

  • some school educators saying that "the excessive importance" placed on tests circumscribes students' education because it compels teachers to "teach to the test"

  • company managements trying to circumscribe personal use of the Internet by employees during the workday

  • someone unable to appreciate the staggering poverty in Africa, Asia, and Latin America because his or her perspective is so circumscribed by having always lived in an affluent nation such as ours

    © 2004 V.J. Singal

    This Month's Other Words

    Vortex
    Tin Ear
    Truculent
    Engender
    Bulwark
    Vacuous
    Pernicious
    Circumscribe

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