Abstract: Keyword-based verification of proper connectivity of a circuit design including a plurality of cells is disclosed. In one embodiment, a method includes assigning a keyword to each relevant pin of the circuit design, the keyword indicates a verification rule for a domain starting at the relevant pin; tracing the domain starting at the relevant pin, including recording a circuit instance identifier of each cell encountered to generate a traced circuit instance set; and verifying proper connectivity using the verification rule and the traced circuit instance set. The keyword may also indicate a name that drives the creation of a domain, or a trace rule that instructs the tracing. If the traced circuit instance sets do not match the pre-defined relationships, the verification fails and the user is notified that the logic must be modified. The keyword-based verification can occur between domains of the same circuit or a traced circuit instance set can be compared to an expected set.