circumspection, n. caution, care, prudence, discretion, solicitude, providence, forethought, foresight; cautiousness, carefulness, heedfulness, mindfulness; attention, attentiveness, watchfulness, alertness, vigilance; chariness, wariness, leeriness, apprehension, suspiciousness, Inf caginess.
circumstance, n. 1. detail, fact, factor, particular, point, item, element; feature, aspect, respect; part, attribute, accessory.
2. incident, occurrence, happening, event, instance, occasion, phenomenon, incidence; adventure, affair, case, episode; eventuality, contingency, possibility; fortuity, happenstance, coincidence, chance, accident; stipulation, proviso, provision, clause, qualification, specification.
3. circumstances condition, state, state of affairs, situation, position; plight, predicament, difficulty; crisis, exigency, emergency; vicissitudes, ups and downs, turn of events, course of events, the times; lot, fortune, welfare, well-being, Archaic, weal; standing, rank, grade, means, class, estate, status; footing, station, elevation, step, Inf. notch.
circumstantial, adj. 1. indirect, evidential, deduced, presumed, implicative, inferential, implied, presumable; hearsay, interpretive, verisimilar; inconclusive, controvertible, conjectural, debatable.
2. secondary, incidental, contingent, dependent, conditional, provisional; nonessential, unessential, extraneous, extrinsic, external, adventitious, supervenient; accidental, fortuitous, serendipitous, chance.
3. particular, detailed, precise, exact, accurate, minute; explicit, specific, express, pointed, to the point; exhaustive, full, thorough, plenary, complete.
circumvent, v. 1. entrap, ensnare; encircle, surround, encompass, circumscribe, ring around, box off; girdle, belt, loop; envelop, embrace, confine, hem in, pen in.
2. bypass, make a detour, circumnavigate, circumambulate, circle, skirt; avoid, shun, evade, elude, sidestep, Inf. do an end run, fight shy of, keep away from.
3. outwit, defraud, deceive, cheat, swindle; delude, beguile, hoodwink, befool; inveigle, gull, trick, bamboozle; baffle, confound, confuse, perplex, nonplus, disconcert, Inf. tree, Inf. discombobulate.
4. disappoint, frustrate, thwart, foil, check, abort; defeat, checkmate; cross, oppose, contravene.
circus, n. 1. Inf. big top, cirque, carnival, rodeo; spectacle, exhibition, performance, entertainment, side show.
2. band, Theat. troupe, company, touring company.
3. ring, arena, hippodrome, amphitheater, coliseum, stadium, bowl, field; gymnasium, Gk. Antiq. palestra.
4. turmoil, commotion, uproar, hubbub, hullabaloo, three-ring circus; Inf. to-do, fracas, rumpus, Inf. ruckus; anarchy, chaos, confusion, bedlam, pandemonium, free-for-all.
cistern, n. reservoir, well, water barrel, tank, vat; basin, sink, tub; container, vessel, receptacle,
citadel, n. castle, keep, tower, donjon, fortress, fort, stronghold; safehold, fasthold, hold, bastion, rampart, battlement; fortification, buttress, bulwark, stockade, redoubt, palisade.
citation, n. 1. citing, quoting, referring, al!udinfe to, adducing; attesting, alleging, proving.
2. quotation, Inf. cite, extract, abstract, excerpt, passage, selection, clipping, reference, allusion; illustration, evidence, proof, documentation, witness, authority.