The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Circumvent \Cir`cum*vent"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Circumvented;
   p. pr. & vb. n. Circumventing.] [L. circumventis, p. p. of
   circumvenire, to come around, encompass, deceive; circum +
   venire to come, akin to E. come.]
   To gain advantage over by arts, stratagem, or deception; to
   decieve; to delude; to get around.
   [1913 Webster]

         I circumvented whom I could not gain.    --Dryden.
   [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

circumvent
    v 1: surround so as to force to give up; "The Turks besieged
         Vienna" [syn: besiege, beleaguer, surround, hem in,
         circumvent]
    2: beat through cleverness and wit; "I beat the traffic"; "She
       outfoxed her competitors" [syn: outwit, overreach,
       outsmart, outfox, beat, circumvent]
    3: avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing
       (duties, questions, or issues); "He dodged the issue"; "she
       skirted the problem"; "They tend to evade their
       responsibilities"; "he evaded the questions skillfully" [syn:
       hedge, fudge, evade, put off, circumvent, parry,
       elude, skirt, dodge, duck, sidestep]