evasive
adjective /ɪˈveɪsɪv/
/ɪˈveɪsɪv/
Idioms - not willing to give clear answers to a question synonym cagey
- evasive answers/comments/replies
- Tessa was evasive about why she had not been at home that night.
- John, normally so honest, was now being evasive in the extreme.
Extra Examples- He was very evasive with me.
- His reply was curiously evasive.
- She was a bit evasive on this point.
- They remained evasive over their plans.
Oxford Collocations DictionaryEvasive is used with these nouns:- action
- manoeuvre
- reply
- …
Word Originearly 18th cent.: from Latin evas- ‘evaded’ (from the verb evadere) + -ive.
Idioms
take evasive action
- to act in order to avoid danger or an unpleasant situation
- The pilot had to take evasive action to avoid a mid-air collision.