Prefix · around / surrounding
Signals around or surrounding something: circumference, circumstance, circumnavigate, circumspect.
Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated
Circum- comes from the Latin circum, which means "around". It shows that something surrounds another thing or moves around it. If you picture a circle, you already have the idea: the word circum- and the word circle come from the same family.
Circum- is not for everyday conversation. It appears mostly in written, literary, legal and scientific texts, so you will find it more when reading than when speaking. Many circum- words are advanced vocabulary that turns up in exams and in quality journalism.
Attaches to nouns, verbs, and adjectives:
Pronunciation: /ˈsɜːrkəm/. English uses "circum-" unchanged.
circum-/ˈsɜːrkəm/
Tap the button to hear how the prefix sounds. Each word in the table has its own audio.
"Circumstance" (from Latin "circum" = around + "stare" = to stand) = literally "what stands around" a situation. It is used broadly: under the circumstances (given the situation), the circumstances of his birth (the conditions of his birth), suspicious circumstances (suspicious surrounding factors). It is not limited to criminal contexts.
"Circumvent" is rarely used in a literal physical sense. It typically means to "go around" laws, regulations, controls, or obstacles: "to circumvent the law," "to circumvent security measures." It carries a connotation of cleverness or possible dishonesty.
A trick to remember it
Picture drawing a circle around something: circum- = all the way around. circumference, circumstance.
Exercise 1 · Form the word
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
"The minister's speech was full of ___, saying much without ever addressing the actual question posed."
Exercise 3 · Pick the right one
What does "circumvent" mean in English?
The prefix circum- signals around or surrounding something: circumference, circumstance, circumnavigate, circumspect.
The prefix circum- is pronounced /ˈsɜːrkəm/. For example, "circumference".
"ference" becomes "circumference". It is a typical example of the circum- prefix.
un-, re-, pre-, dis-, over-, in-... every beginning you need to unlock thousands of English words at once.