evasiveadjective
uk/ɪˈveɪ.sɪv/us/ɪˈveɪ.sɪv/answering questions in a way that is not direct or clear, especially because you do not want to give an honest answer:
The Minister was her usual evasive self, skilfully dodging reporters' questions about her possible resignation.
done to avoid something bad happening:
By the time the pilot realized how close the plane was to the building, it was too late to take evasive action.
Drivers had to make sudden evasive manoeuvres.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Digressing and being indirect or evasive
- beat
- discursive
- elliptical
- euphemism
- go (all) round the houses idiom
- go off on a tangent idiom
- implicit
- meander
- move off sth/on (to sth)
- obliquely
- parry
- sanitize
- sidestep
- skirt
- stray
- suggestion
- talk around sth
- tangent
- tiptoe
- tiptoe around sth/sb
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evasively
adverb uk/ɪˈveɪ.sɪv.li/us/ɪˈveɪ.sɪv.li/
evasiveness
noun [ U ] uk/ɪˈveɪ.sɪv.nəs/us/ɪˈveɪ.sɪv.nəs/