evade
Americanverb (used with object)
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to escape from by trickery or cleverness.
to evade one's pursuers.
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to get around by trickery.
to evade rules.
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to avoid doing or fulfilling.
to evade an obligation.
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to avoid answering directly.
to evade a question.
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The solution evaded him.
verb (used without object)
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to avoid doing or fulfilling something.
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to elude or get away from someone or something by craft or slyness; escape.
verb
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to get away from or avoid (imprisonment, captors, etc); escape
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to get around, shirk, or dodge (the law, a duty, etc)
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(also intr) to avoid answering (a question)
Synonym Usage
See escape.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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evadernoun
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evadableadjective
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evadibleadjective
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nonevadableadjective
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nonevadibleadjective
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nonevadingadjective
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unevadableadjective
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unevadedadjective
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unevadibleadjective
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unevadingadjective
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evadinglyadverb
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nonevadinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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evadesimple
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evadessimple
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have evadedperfect
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has evadedperfect
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are evadingprogressive
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am evadingprogressive
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is evadingprogressive
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have been evadingperfect progressive
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has been evadingperfect progressive
Past
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evadedsimple
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had evadedperfect
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was evadingprogressive
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were evadingprogressive
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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
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"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from all 4 Acts
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Refugee
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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.
Asked whether he helped people evade tax, McConney said, "Evade is a very strong word. ... I tried to help them in any way I could."
From Reuters • Nov. 10, 2022
Evade distractions such as Richard Miles saying: "Why don't we try another field?"
From The Guardian • Jun. 30, 2012
Then there's the Evade sneaker for jocks who make more lateral moves in their drills.
From Time Magazine Archive
Evade the mischief, if you can: if you cannot, endure it; and do not trouble yourself overmuch about your dignity, or about retaliating on the man, except it be on the grounds of expediency.
From The Art of Travel Shifts and Contrivances Available in Wild Countries by Galton, Francis, Sir
Evade the painful proximity of my old sphere of life.
From The Bride of Dreams by Auw, Mellie von
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.
