prevaricate

pre·var·i·cate

P0549200 (prĭ-văr′ĭ-kāt′)v. pre·var·i·cat·ed, pre·var·i·cat·ing, pre·var·i·cates v.intr.1. To speak or write evasively. See Synonyms at lie².2. (Usage Problem) To behave in an indecisive manner; delay or procrastinate.v.tr. To utter or say in an evasive manner.

[Latin praevāricārī, praevāricāt-, to straddle across (something), collude (used of lawyers) : prae-, pre- + vāricāre, to straddle (from vāricus, straddling, from vārus, bow-legged, bandy).]

pre·var′i·ca′tion n.pre·var′i·ca′tor n.Usage Note: The traditional meaning of prevaricate is "to speak or write evasively." In recent years, a second sense has developed, meaning "to behave in an indecisive manner; delay or procrastinate," perhaps influenced by equivocate, which primarily means "to speak evasively" but can also mean "to be indecisive." In American English, this second sense is widely considered an error, and a large majority of the Usage Panel finds it unacceptable. In 2011, 78 percent of the Panel disapproved of the "delay" sense of the word as used in the sentence He prevaricated for some two years before accepting the new design for production. This usage is more commonly encountered in British English, as in this quotation from the BBC News: As the industry prevaricated, sales collapsed.

prevaricate

(prɪˈværɪˌkeɪt) vb (intr) to speak or act falsely or evasively with intent to deceive[C16: from Latin praevāricārī to walk crookedly, from prae beyond + vāricare to straddle the legs; compare Latin vārus bent] preˌvariˈcation n preˈvariˌcator n

pre•var•i•cate

(prɪˈvær ɪˌkeɪt)

v.i. -cat•ed, -cat•ing. to speak falsely, misleadingly, or so as to avoid the truth; deliberately misstate; equivocate; lie. [1575–85; < Latin praevāricātus, past participle of praevāricārī to straddle something, (of an advocate) collude with an opponent's advocate] pre•var`i•ca′tion, n. pre•var′i•ca`tor, n.

prevaricate

Past participle: prevaricated
Gerund: prevaricating

Imperative
prevaricate
prevaricate

Present
I prevaricate
you prevaricate
he/she/it prevaricates
we prevaricate
you prevaricate
they prevaricate

Preterite
I prevaricated
you prevaricated
he/she/it prevaricated
we prevaricated
you prevaricated
they prevaricated

Present Continuous
I am prevaricating
you are prevaricating
he/she/it is prevaricating
we are prevaricating
you are prevaricating
they are prevaricating

Present Perfect
I have prevaricated
you have prevaricated
he/she/it has prevaricated
we have prevaricated
you have prevaricated
they have prevaricated

Past Continuous
I was prevaricating
you were prevaricating
he/she/it was prevaricating
we were prevaricating
you were prevaricating
they were prevaricating

Past Perfect
I had prevaricated
you had prevaricated
he/she/it had prevaricated
we had prevaricated
you had prevaricated
they had prevaricated

Future
I will prevaricate
you will prevaricate
he/she/it will prevaricate
we will prevaricate
you will prevaricate
they will prevaricate

Future Perfect
I will have prevaricated
you will have prevaricated
he/she/it will have prevaricated
we will have prevaricated
you will have prevaricated
they will have prevaricated

Future Continuous
I will be prevaricating
you will be prevaricating
he/she/it will be prevaricating
we will be prevaricating
you will be prevaricating
they will be prevaricating

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been prevaricating
you have been prevaricating
he/she/it has been prevaricating
we have been prevaricating
you have been prevaricating
they have been prevaricating

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been prevaricating
you will have been prevaricating
he/she/it will have been prevaricating
we will have been prevaricating
you will have been prevaricating
they will have been prevaricating

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been prevaricating
you had been prevaricating
he/she/it had been prevaricating
we had been prevaricating
you had been prevaricating
they had been prevaricating

Conditional
I would prevaricate
you would prevaricate
he/she/it would prevaricate
we would prevaricate
you would prevaricate
they would prevaricate

Past Conditional
I would have prevaricated
you would have prevaricated
he/she/it would have prevaricated
we would have prevaricated
you would have prevaricated
they would have prevaricated

Thesaurus

Verb

prevaricate - be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold informationbeat around the bush, equivocate, palter, tergiversatemisinform, mislead - give false or misleading information to

prevaricate

verb evade, lie, shift, hedge, shuffle, dodge, deceive, flannel (Brit. informal), quibble, beg the question, beat about the bush, cavil, equivocate, stretch the truth, palter, give a false colour to British ministers continued to prevaricate on the issue.
be direct, be frank, be straightforward, be blunt, come straight to the point, not beat about the bush

prevaricate

verb1. To stray from truthfulness or sincerity:equivocate, palter, shuffle.2. To make untrue declarations:falsify, fib, forswear, lie.Law: perjure.

Translations

bugiamentireprevaricare

prevaricate

pre·var·i·cate

prevaricate

pre•var•i•cate

prevaricate

prevaricate

prevaricate

prevaricate

Synonyms for prevaricate

verb evade

Synonyms

Antonyms

Synonyms for prevaricate

verb to stray from truthfulness or sincerity

Synonyms

verb to make untrue declarations

Synonyms

Synonyms for prevaricate

verb be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information

Synonyms

Related Words