Crossword clues for prevaricating
prevaricating
The Collaborative International Dictionary
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.
Wiktionary
vb. (present participle of prevaricate English)
Usage examples of "prevaricating".
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.