evade
Americanverb (used with object)
-
evades,
present (3rd person singular)
-
evaded,
past participle, past
-
evading
present participle
-
to escape from by trickery or cleverness.
to evade one's pursuers.
-
to get around by trickery.
to evade rules.
-
to avoid doing or fulfilling.
to evade an obligation.
-
to avoid answering directly.
to evade a question.
-
The solution evaded him.
verb (used without object)
-
evades,
present (3rd person singular)
-
evaded,
past participle, past
-
evading
present participle
-
to avoid doing or fulfilling something.
-
to elude or get away from someone or something by craft or slyness; escape.
verb
-
to get away from or avoid (imprisonment, captors, etc); escape
-
to get around, shirk, or dodge (the law, a duty, etc)
-
(also intr) to avoid answering (a question)
Synonym Usage
See escape.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
evadernoun
-
preevadeverb (used with object)
-
evadableadjective
-
evadibleadjective
-
nonevadableadjective
-
nonevadibleadjective
-
nonevadingadjective
-
unevadableadjective
-
unevadedadjective
-
unevadibleadjective
-
unevadingadjective
-
evadinglyadverb
-
nonevadinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
evadesimple
-
evadessimple
-
have evadedperfect
-
has evadedperfect
-
am evadingprogressive
-
are evadingprogressive
-
is evadingprogressive
-
have been evadingperfect progressive
-
has been evadingperfect progressive
Past
-
evadedsimple
-
had evadedperfect
-
was evadingprogressive
-
were evadingprogressive
-
had been evadingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of evade
First recorded in 1505–15; from Latin ēvādere “to pass over, go out,” equivalent to ē- “out of, from” + vādere “to go, walk” see e- 1
Explanation
When you evade something, you escape it. You could evade a police chase by slipping into a secret alley, or you could evade your mother's questions about the missing cookies by slipping into another topic. Other things people like to evade? Death. Taxes. Creepy ex-boyfriends. The verb evade comes from Latin roots ex ("away) and vadere ("to walk"), meaning literally "to walk away or to escape." Definitely what you want to do with creepy ex-boyfriends.
Vocabulary lists containing evade
List 2
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from all 4 Acts
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Refugee
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A new White House report says more than 40 countries enable Chinese exporters to evade U.S. tariffs through illegal transshipment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
He is accused of heading a company that routinely mislabeled shipments to evade taxes on fuel imported from Texas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
The captain said the drone appeared to be "small" because it managed to evade detection by "our air defence systems, and the port authority's own surveillance cameras didn't catch anything."
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
Past findings produced by Wada suggest micro-dosing could evade detection methods, and so the scope to cheat in professional sport remains, meaning all efforts must be taken to ensure nobody beats the system.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
She vowed that he would not evade her company so easily the next time he came.
From "Lupita Mañana" by Patricia Beatty
But how does one set out to write a biography about the creation of an author who not only can’t be reached, but actively evades the spotlight?
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 2, 2026
“It seems sometimes progress evades us,” Walker says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 25, 2025
This "dark matter" is a mysterious entity that evades all forms of direct observation yet makes its presence felt through its invisible pull on visible objects.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 6, 2024
Tom James goes quick and is clear, the scrum-half looks around for support but his grubber evades Tommy Freeman.
From BBC ● Apr. 5, 2024
“Not everything’s about you,” Alyssa says, but the way she evades Jacqui’s glare tells me that this time it is.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
He’d evaded immigration agents at least three times before he was detained in late June.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
The driver successfully and momentarily evaded officers, who found his abandoned motorcycle, valued at $5,000, in a nearby alley, according to Buttitta.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Even the perennial budget champion, however, hasn't evaded a "wave of price hikes", Yoshihiro Noro, former head of the Japan Natto Cooperative Society Federation, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026
Amazon researchers showed some safeguards on Fable could be evaded, alarming White House officials.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
He made a few halfhearted forays after small creatures that crossed his path, but they easily evaded him.
From "Tiger, Tiger" by Lynne Reid Banks
Incidents of such loss of control continue to be catnip for AI ethicists, who contend that companies are evading moral responsibilities and accountability by describing it as their AI making its own choices.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
It can also be deeply damaging when it becomes a means of evading the truth.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
Kent Police said after initially evading arrest, the suspect had run toward Tivoli Road in Margate.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
Treasury, said he fears that because regimes are successfully evading sanctions, people will increasingly view them as impotent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
On the other hand, Geodon, Risperdal, Seroquel, and all the other heavyweight antipsychotics have a much longer half-life, evading the liver for quite a while.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
