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Bypass and circumvent are synonyms that both mean to find a way to avoid or go around something. However, there are some differences in their usage, focus, formality, connotation, and etymology.
Bypass is more commonly used than circumvent in everyday language. Bypass is versatile and covers a wide range of contexts, while circumvent is less common and tends to be used in more specific situations.
CIRCUMVENT definition: 1. to avoid something, especially cleverly or illegally: 2. to avoid something, especially…. Learn more.
Circumvent has the meaning of going around or bypassing; you may still reach your original intended destination. Avoid has the rather more general meaning of not meeting, which might include not going at all.
Jun 28, 2018 · According to my vocabulary book, the meaning of circumvent is "to frustrate as though by surrounding" An example sentence given was, "Our hopes for an early end of the meeting were circumvented by the chairperson's refusal to deal with the items on the agenda."
While bypassing is associated with a casual and informal tone, circumvent is generally considered more formal. Circumvent is often used in legal, bureaucratic, or professional contexts where precision and formality are important.
If someone circumvents a rule or restriction, they avoid having to obey the rule or restriction, in a clever and perhaps dishonest way. [formal] Military planners tried to circumvent the treaty. [VERB noun] Synonyms: evade, bypass, elude, steer clear of More Synonyms of circumvent.
