circumspection

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun knowing how to avoid embarrassment or distress
  2. noun the trait of being circumspect and prudent

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).

In classic literature

Synonyms

discretion, discreetness, prudence

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