[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/circumscribed/)

[dictionaries](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [English](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/) / [C](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/c/) / circumscribed

# circumscribed

verb (circumscribe, circumscribes, circumscribed, circumscribing); adjective (circumscribed)

«circumscribed» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (formal) Limited or restricted: «a circumscribed life» is one with narrow limits. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/circumscribed/#m1)
2. (maths) Drawn around a shape so that it touches it: a circumscribed circle passes through every corner of a triangle or polygon. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/circumscribed/#m2)

### In the lessons

In geometry a circumscribed circle (circumcircle) goes round a shape through all its vertices; an inscribed circle sits inside touching each side. In formal writing «circumscribed» means kept within limits, by rules, money or illness.

### Examples

- The teacher drew a circle circumscribed about the triangle. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/circumscribed/#x1)
- A circumscribed circle touches every corner of the square. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/circumscribed/#x2)
- Her freedom was circumscribed by strict rules. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/circumscribed/#x3)
- In the old days girls lived very circumscribed lives. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/circumscribed/#x4)
- The king's power was circumscribed by the law. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/circumscribed/#x5)
- Draw the circle that circumscribes the regular hexagon. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/circumscribed/#x6)

### Note

Built from Latin «circum» (around) + «scribe» (write, draw). In maths: circumscribed = drawn outside around a shape; inscribed = drawn inside. For a regular hexagon, the radius of the circumscribed circle equals the side length.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «circumscribed» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/circumscribed/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«circumscribed» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/circumscribed.html) on Mova free.