prevaricate
verb /prɪˈværɪkeɪt/
/prɪˈværɪkeɪt/
[intransitive, transitive] (formal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they prevaricate | /prɪˈværɪkeɪt/ /prɪˈværɪkeɪt/ |
| he / she / it prevaricates | /prɪˈværɪkeɪts/ /prɪˈværɪkeɪts/ |
| past simple prevaricated | /prɪˈværɪkeɪtɪd/ /prɪˈværɪkeɪtɪd/ |
| past participle prevaricated | /prɪˈværɪkeɪtɪd/ /prɪˈværɪkeɪtɪd/ |
| -ing form prevaricating | /prɪˈværɪkeɪtɪŋ/ /prɪˈværɪkeɪtɪŋ/ |
- (+ speech) to avoid giving a direct answer to a question in order to hide the truth synonym beat about the bush
- Stop prevaricating and come to the point.
Word Originmid 16th cent. (earlier (Middle English) as prevarication and prevaricator), in the sense ‘go astray, transgress’: from Latin praevaricat- ‘walked crookedly, deviated’, from the verb praevaricari, from prae ‘before’ + varicari ‘straddle’.