circunscribir
to circumscribe
verb seer-koons-kree-BEER Rare
Origin: From Latin circumscribere 'to draw a line around'.
Also means
to confine
Usage Note
Circunscribir means to limit or confine something within a boundary, literally or figuratively. It is a formal verb common in academic and legal writing: circunscribir el debate a un tema (to limit the debate to one topic). The past participle is irregular: circunscrito (not circunscribido), and both forms coexist in practice.
Examples
"El debate se circunscribió al ámbito económico."
Natural Translation
The debate was confined to the economic sphere.

Free starter pack
Building your Spanish vocabulary?
Get the 100 most common Spanish words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.
Related Words
Explore Spanish by topic
SpanishNow
6 min read