evasive

[ih-vey-siv]

adjective

1. tending or seeking to evade; characterized by evasion.

   an evasive answer.

2. elusive or evanescent.

evasive

/ ɪˈveɪsɪv /

adjective

1. tending or seeking to evade; avoiding the issue; not straightforward

2. avoiding or seeking to avoid trouble or difficulties

   to take evasive action

3. hard to catch or obtain; elusive

Other Word Forms

• evasively adverb
• evasiveness noun
• nonevasive adjective
• nonevasively adverb
• nonevasiveness noun
• unevasive adjective
• unevasively adverb
• unevasiveness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of evasive¹

First recorded in 1715–25; evas(ion) + -ive

Example Sentences

At one point the Avontuur has to take evasive action to avoid a hurricane and sails as far north as Newfoundland - off the coast of Canada.

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He claims the council stopped co-operating and went behind his back, and that their conduct has been "evasive, misleading and at times shocking".

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Yet she remained typically evasive when asked if she planned to more tournaments later this year.

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"I seemed weak and evasive. Worst of all, I sounded like I didn't have the courage to stand behind the logical conclusion of the self-identification system we had just legislated for," she writes.

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It comes less than one week after a Delta regional flight from Minneapolis was forced to make a sudden evasive manoeuvre to avoid a US military bomber.

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Related Words

• ambiguous 
• cagey 
• deceptive 
• false 
• misleading 
• unclear 
• vague