1
as in to circumvent
to avoid having to comply with (something) especially through cleverness
the eager enlistee sidestepped the regulations by lying about his age
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Recent Examples of sidestep
Artists pulled out of holiday performances in protest, and CBS sidestepped the new name in its Kennedy Center Honors broadcast, underscoring the controversy.
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Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 26 Dec. 2025
The flu genome is constantly undergoing minute changes that, cumulatively, can allow the virus to sidestep our preexisting immunity (the defenses established by past infections and vaccinations) as well as the protection offered by the annual flu shot.
—Lisa Jarvis, Mercury News, 23 Dec. 2025
Zheng and his team took a different approach, sidestepping physical synchronization altogether.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 23 Dec. 2025
The celebration of global digital access conveniently sidesteps the question of Americans who may be left behind in this streaming future.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 19 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sidestep
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sidestep
Verb
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In Washington, the president believes that might makes right, that the courts are simply speed bumps, not stop signs — that democracy is a nuisance to be circumvented.—
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The unilateral interceptions could complicate Ukraine peace talks between the US and Russia, which is said to use a fleet of shadow tankers to circumvent Western sanctions.—
Verb
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An hour later, for its first concert since the fires, parishioners sat in awe as Grammy Award winning violinist Anne Akiko Meyers weaved her bow across her violin, the music of Johann Sebastian Bach echoing through the church.—
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Culturally, 2026 is the year cannabis truly weaves into everyday life.—
Verb
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To avoid this dilemma, my aunt always travels with a portable power bank like this slim option from Anker.—
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Learn how to properly thaw frozen pipes, and how to avoid them in the first place.—
Verb
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In winter, visitors like to duck in from the cold to sample wines at many of the Old Mission Peninsula's wineries, sipping warm reds and dry whites while watching the sun set over frozen Lake Michigan.—
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Unfortunately, New York’s leaders may choose to duck the hard choices for now.—
Verb
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Davis faces three counts of first-degree assault and a single count each of second-degree manslaughter, evading responsibility involving a death, reckless driving and failure to drive in the proper lane.—
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Ashton Hill, 17, was charged with discharge of a firearm in certain municipalities, evading arrest, riot participation, possession of marijuana under two ounces in a drug-free zone and possession of CS PG2 under one gram.—
Verb
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The new game broadens the familiar train-dodging formula into a larger, explorable world while keeping the fast pace that helped the franchise dominate mobile charts for years.—
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Barring legislation, which is not likely, the industry will either dodge the caps entirely or be forced to offer concessions, similar to how Trump dealt with the pharmaceutical industry, Wolfe Research analysts led by Tobin Marcus said Tuesday in a note.—
Verb
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Downloads of VPNs, which hide users’ locations to bypass country-specific restrictions, increased before the ban.—
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Iranians are seeking, with some success, to bypass the regime’s internet blackout amid the country’s deadliest protests in years.—
Cite this Entry
“Sidestep.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sidestep. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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