prevaricate

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“
They too will skulk, and dodge, and prevaricate--be ready to speak one way and act another--just like their betters.

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Definitions (10)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. intransitive verb To stray from or evade the truth; equivocate. See Synonyms at lie2.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (6)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (1)

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Examples (50)

  • "Do you swear to prevaricate, perjure yourself and tell nothing but lies except when the truth would wreak the greatest havoc, so hinder you Satan Never," van S said. —  Alien Plot by Piers Anthony
  • The longer we prevaricate, the more people we will be denying that choice and condemning to death. —  April's CR Diary
  • Who was that in the Planet Money clip who doesn't know "prevaricate" (lie) from —  WNYC New York Public Radio
  • The guy that said prevaricate was Simon Johnson, a former chief economist at the IMF and now professor at MIT. —  WNYC New York Public Radio
  • He used the word prevaricate instead of procrastinate because he was talking about the deceit of the banking industry in cahoots with the government. —  WNYC New York Public Radio
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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Latin praevāricārī, praevāricāt- : prae-, pre- + vāricāre, to straddle (from vāricus, straddling, from vārus, bent).

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Latin prævaricatus, past participle of prævaricari, Late Latin also in active form prævaricare (later Italian prevaricare = Portuguese Spanish prevaricar = Old French prevarier, prevariquer, French prévariquer), walk crookedly, collude, prevaricate, as an advocate, Late Latin also transgress, Middle Latin, in general, use deceit or concealment, etc., from Latin præ, before, + varicare, straddle, from various, with feet spread apart, from varus, bent inward, awry: see varicose. Cf. divaricate.
 

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/prəˈværɪkeɪt/
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