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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

circumspection en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /ˌsɜːkəmˈspɛkʃən/ (UK)
  • /ˌsɚkəmˈspɛkʃən/ (US)
  • audio

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English circumspeccioun, from Middle French circonspection or its etymon Latin circumspectio. By surface analysis, circum- + Latin spect + -ion, "looking [all] around" (as compared with the opposite concept, embodied as tunnel vision or blinders).

Meanings

  1. (countable, uncountable) Attention to all the facts and circumstances of a case; consideration of all that is pertinent.
  2. (countable, uncountable) Caution, watchfulness, or vigilance fueled by such awareness.
    • As if this were not enough, CAW has failed to utilize even his limited sources with diligence and circumspection; to demonstrate this point, I will briefly note inadequacies in the data adduced by CAW. 1989 January 14, Werner Winter, “On a new claim concerning substratum influence upon Tocharian”, in Central Asiatic Journal, volume 33, number 1/2, Harrassowitz Verlag, →ISSN, page 128:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
circumspections Number=Plur lexicographic

Translations (12)

it circospezione (attention to all the facts and circumstances) · cs obezřetnost (attention to all the facts and circumstances) · bg предпазливост (attention to all the facts and circumstances) · sv försiktighet (attention to all the facts and circumstances) · sh оба̀зриво̄ст (attention to all the facts and circumstances) · pt circunspeção (attention to all the facts and circumstances) · fr circonspection (attention to all the facts and circumstances) · gl circunspección (attention to all the facts and circumstances) · hu körültekintés (attention to all the facts and circumstances) · sh obàzrivōst (attention to all the facts and circumstances) · sv förtänksamhet (attention to all the facts and circumstances) · sv varsamhet (attention to all the facts and circumstances)