evasion

American  

[ih-vey-zhuhn] / ɪˈveɪ ʒən /

noun

1. an act or instance of escaping, avoiding, or shirking something.

   evasion of one's duty.

   Synonyms:

   avoidance

2. the avoiding of an argument, accusation, question, or the like, as by a subterfuge.

   The old political boss was notorious for his practice of evasion.

   Synonyms:

   quibbling, equivocation, prevarication

3. a means of evading; subterfuge; an excuse or trick to avoid or get around something.

   Her polite agreement was an evasion concealing what she really felt.

4. physical or mental escape.

5. an act or instance of violating the tax laws by failing or refusing to pay all or part of one's taxes.

---

evasion British  

/ ɪˈveɪʒən /

noun

1. the act of evading or escaping, esp from a distasteful duty, responsibility, etc, by trickery, cunning, or illegal means

   tax evasion

2. trickery, cunning, or deception used to dodge a question, duty, etc; means of evading

---

Other Word Forms

• evasional adjective
• nonevasion noun
• preevasion noun
• reevasion noun

Etymology

Origin of evasion

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin ēvāsiōn- (stem of ēvāsiō ), equivalent to ēvās ( us ) (past participle of ēvādere to go out; evade ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

She was tried alongside her husband Hu, 43, who faced allegations of fraud and tax evasion.

From The Wall Street Journal

Failure to report is treated as evasion of military service.

From Barron's

The actress was dropped by fashion labels and the couple were investigated for tax evasion.

From The Wall Street Journal

Treating it as merely another entry in the catalog of “hate” isn’t “inclusiveness” but evasion.

From The Wall Street Journal

The couple were investigated for tax evasion; she was ordered to pay a nearly $46 million fine and he was fined $5 million in the tax case.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• dodging