Word origins - 2ed. J. Ayto. 2005.
prevaricate — prevaricate, procrastinate Because their meanings, or at least the implications of their meanings, overlap, these two words are often confused. To prevaricate (derived from Latin praevaricari meaning literally ‘to walk crookedly’) is ‘to speak or … Modern English usage
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}.] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
prevaricate — I verb be dishonest, be evasive, be untruthful, bear false witness, beg the question, belie, conceal the truth, concoct, counterfeit, deceive, defraud, delude, deviate, deviate from the truth, dissemble, dissimulate, distort, dodge, dupe, elude,… … Law dictionary
prevaricate — [pri var′i kāt΄] vi. prevaricated, prevaricating [< L praevaricatus, pp. of praevaricari, to prevaricate, lit., to walk crookedly < prae , before + varicare, to straddle < varicus, straddling < varus, bent apart < IE base * wa > … English World dictionary
Prevaricate — Pre*var i*cate, v. t. To evade by a quibble; to transgress; to pervert. [Obs.] Jer. Taylor. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
prevaricate — 1580s, to transgress, from L. praevaricari to make a sham accusation, deviate, lit. walk crookedly; in Church L., to transgress (see PREVARICATION (Cf. prevarication)). Meaning to speak evasively is from 1630s. Related: Prevaricated;… … Etymology dictionary
prevaricate — [v] deceive; stretch the truth beat around the bush*, beg the question*, belie, cavil, con, distort, dodge, equivocate, evade, exaggerate, fabricate, falsify, fib, garble, hedge, invent, jive*, lie*, misrepresent, misspeak, palter, phony up*, put … New thesaurus
prevaricate — ► VERB ▪ avoid giving a direct answer when asked a question. DERIVATIVES prevarication noun prevaricator noun. ORIGIN originally in the sense «transgress»: from Latin praevaricari walk crookedly, deviate … English terms dictionary
prevaricate — verb /prɪˈvaɹɪkeɪt,pɹɪˈvæɹɪkeɪt,pɹɪˈvɛɹɪkeɪt/ a) To shift or turn from direct speech or behaviour; to evade the truth; to waffle or be (intentionally) ambiguous. The people saw the politician prevaricate every day. b) To behave in an evasive way… … Wiktionary
prevaricate — [[t]prɪvæ̱rɪkeɪt[/t]] prevaricates, prevaricating, prevaricated VERB If you prevaricate, you avoid giving a direct answer or making a firm decision. British ministers continued to prevaricate. Derived words: prevarication… … English dictionary
prevaricate — [prɪ varɪkeɪt] verb speak or act evasively. Derivatives prevarication noun prevaricator noun Origin C16 (earlier (ME) as prevarication and prevaricator), in the sense go astray, transgress : from L. praevaricat , praevaricari walk crookedly,… … English new terms dictionary
