Make Your Point > Archived Issues > CIRCUMSCRIBE
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"The tiny swimming beetles of the Australian desert live circumscribed lives," writes Veronique Greenwood for the New York Times. These beetles live underground, she says, where they're forced to draw in oxygen from water rather than air.
These beetles' lives are limited, restricted, confined or hemmed in to a certain area, as if the environment has scribed (written) a binding circle around their lives. Their lives are circumscribed.
See if you can recall two opposites of circumscribed:
A life that's been e_____pated, or man_____ed, has been freed, liberated, set loose from restraints or restrictions. Be free, little beetles! Go make the Australian desert even scarier!
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
make your point with...
"CIRCUMSCRIBE"
The word "circumscribe" has Latin roots that mean "written around."
To circumscribe something is to encircle it, to draw a circle around it, or, more figuratively, to limit it in a narrow way, as if you're drawing a tight, strict circle around it.
Pronunciation:
SIR come SCRIBE
Part of speech:
Verb, the transitive kind: "they circumscribed the property," "his rigorous schedule circumscribes his life."
Other forms worth knowing:
circumscribed, circumscribing, circumscription, circumscriber(s)
How to use it:
This word is formal, with a negative tone.
Anything that puts limits on something, as if by drawing a tight circle around it, has the power to circumscribe.
So, talk about people, actions, words, and events that circumscribe things. More specifically, you might talk about rules, laws, precedents, expectations, traditions, decisions, commands, and requests that circumscribe things.
And what things get circumscribed? Spaces, settings, and timelines; choices and control; roles, powers, and authority; actions and activities; methods and strategies; skills and abilities; thoughts and speech; discussions and conversations; desires and intentions; ambitions and goals; and lives and lifestyles.
examples:
"Like most Southern California natives, Randy Randall’s childhood memories are inextricable from the freeways that circumscribed it."
— Andrea Domanick, The Los Angeles Times, 27 March 2019
"Dalits are not allowed to sit at this temple, but any Gujjar, including a child, can. This is how it goes for many Dalits, their life circumscribed by what they are not allowed to do."
— Jeffrey Gettleman and Suhasini Raj, The New York Times, 17 November 2018
has this page helped you understand "circumscribe"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "circumscribe" without saying "confine" or "limit."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) points out a key issue: that (something) has circumscribed (something else)."
Example: "Seth Godin points out a key issue: that the habits and methods we use as we work on our computers, hour after hour, day in and day out, might be circumscribing our efficiency."
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
Our game this month is Distinctive Definitions.
We're taking a scenic slog through poetic and philosophical definitions, wading through similes, metaphors, personifications, hyperboles, grandiloquence, and cheesiness.
In each issue, consider a definition provided by a poet, a writer, or a philosopher, and see if you can name the definiendum: the thing or concept being defined. (Is it life, love, time, death, music, sleep, pain, laughter, bubblegum, stubbing your toe…???) For example, James Russell Lowell (1819-1891) said, "What men call ________ and the Gods call dross." He’s defining something—what is it? "Treasure."
Now, you can play this game in earnest, trying to think of what the poet actually wrote--or you can play it for laughs, supplying the silliest or most sarcastic answer you can muster.
To take the silliness to the next level, gather your friends or family, deal each person a hand of cards from your copy of Apples to Apples (great for kids) or Cards Against Humanity (not for kids!!), and enjoy the ensuing hilarity. (In these games, players take turns being the judge for each round, picking the funniest from everyone’s submissions.) "What men call stretch limos and the Gods call dross." "What men call Morgan Freeman's voice and the Gods call dross."
From the previous issue:
Marcus Aurelius (121-180) said, "_____ is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place, and this too will be swept away."
Answer: Time.
Try this one today:
Henri Frédéric Amiel (1821-1881) said, "_____ is the secret of eloquence and of virtue, the basis of moral authority; it is the highest summit of art and of life."
review this word:
1. One opposite of CIRCUMSCRIBE is
A. LIBERATE.
B. DOWNPLAY.
C. CIRCUMAMBULATE.
2. _____: those circumscriptions that teenagers universally _____.
A. Memes .. create
B. Curfews .. resent
C. College applications .. dread
a final word:
Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From Liesl's blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
"The tiny swimming beetles of the Australian desert live circumscribed lives," writes Veronique Greenwood for the New York Times. These beetles live underground, she says, where they're forced to draw in oxygen from water rather than air.
"CIRCUMSCRIBE" The word "circumscribe" has Latin roots that mean "written around."
"Like most Southern California natives, Randy Randall’s childhood memories are inextricable from the freeways that circumscribed it."
Explain the meaning of "circumscribe" without saying "confine" or "limit."
Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) points out a key issue: that (something) has circumscribed (something else)."
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. One opposite of CIRCUMSCRIBE is
|