Crossword clues for prevaricate
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Prevaricate \Pre*var"i*cate\, v. t.
To evade by a quibble; to transgress; to pervert. [Obs.]
--Jer. Taylor.
Prevaricate \Pre*var"i*cate\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Prevaricated; p. pr. & vb. n. Prevaricating.] [L. praevaricatus, p. p. of praevaricari to walk crookedly, to collude; prae before + varicare to straddle, fr. varicus straddling, varus bent. See Varicose.]
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To shift or turn from one side to the other, from the direct course, or from truth; to speak with equivocation; to shuffle; to quibble; as, he prevaricates in his statement.
He prevaricates with his own understanding.
--South. (Civil Law) To collude, as where an informer colludes with the defendant, and makes a sham prosecution.
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(Eng. Law) To undertake a thing falsely and deceitfully, with the purpose of defeating or destroying it.
Syn: To evade; equivocate; quibble; shuffle.
Usage: Prevaricate, Evade, Equivocate. One who evades a question ostensibly answers it, but really turns aside to some other point. He who equivocate uses words which have a double meaning, so that in one sense he can claim to have said the truth, though he does in fact deceive, and intends to do it. He who prevaricates talks all round the question, hoping to ``dodge'' it, and disclose nothing.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1580s, "to transgress," a back formation from prevarication, or else from Latin praevaricatus, past participle of praevaricari "to make a sham accusation, deviate," literally "walk crookedly;" in Church Latin, "to transgress" (see prevarication). Meaning "to speak evasively" is from 1630s. Related: Prevaricated; prevaricating.
Wiktionary
vb. 1 (context transitive intransitive obsolete English) To deviate, transgress; to go astray (from). 2 (context intransitive English) To shift or turn from direct speech or behaviour; to evade the truth; to waffle or be (intentionally) ambiguous. 3 (context intransitive legal English) To collude, as where an informer colludes with the defendant, and makes a sham prosecution. 4 (context legal UK English) To undertake something falsely and deceitfully, with the purpose of defeating or destroying it.
WordNet
v. be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information [syn: beat around the bush, equivocate, tergiversate, palter]
Usage examples of "prevaricate".
He held that to prevaricate, or wilfully to give the impression of a falsehood, is almost as mean as a direct lie.
She could think of no reason why he should prevaricate simply to upset her, especially when he was abandoning an excellent position and any hope of references.
When asked why it had taken her five days to report the alleged attack, she said that she had prevaricated because she knew very well how the whole incident would look.
Kevin thought she was in love with him, so she prevaricated just a little bit.
This request has preserved us in the past when prevaricating, jealous visitors would have pillaged us.
It is your journey to resolving your demons that makes the play the prevaricating tour de force that it is.
Perico could not care: he saw his akaman and his wakanisha prevaricating when action was required, urgent and immediate.
He was opening his mouth to prevaricate when he was rudely interrupted by a sudden raucous clamour coming from the yard beyond the window at which Burdam Thrid was standing.
He believed that he was offering her a compliment by differentiating her from the pretty girls who were allowed to dither charmingly, prevaricate and titter before they made an answer.
For he that lies or prevaricates may not well be counselled, at least in so far as he has deceived.
But he was no sooner in Milan but he began to prevaricate and send supplies to Pope Alexander to put him in possession of Romagna, not considering that thereby he weakened himself and disobliged his friends who had thrown themselves into his arms, and aggrandized the Church by adding to its spiritual authority (which was so formidable before) so great a proportion of temporal.
I replied evasively, not caring to pick a quarrel, and yet morally sure that he was prevaricating.
He knew very well why the Trojans were here, but he wondered if Brutus would prevaricate.