prevarication
Americannoun
-
the act of prevaricating, or lying.
Seeing the expression on his mother's face, Nathan realized this was no time for prevarication.
-
a false or deliberate misstatement; lie.
Her many prevarications had apparently paid off; she was free to go.
Etymology
Origin of prevarication
First recorded in 1350–1400; from Middle French, from Latin praevāricātiō-, stem of praevāricātiō “collusion,” equivalent to praevāricāt(us), past participle of praevāricārī “to collude something, (of an advocate) collude with an opponent's advocate” + -iō -ion ( def. ); prevaricate ( def. )
Explanation
Prevarication is when someone tells a lie, especially in a sneaky way. A child might use prevarication to avoid telling the whole truth about how the kitchen window got broken. While the noun prevarication is mostly just a fancy way to say "lie," it can also mean skirting around the truth, being vague about the truth, or even delaying giving someone an answer, especially to avoid telling them the whole truth. In the 16th century, the word was used to mean "going astray," or "stepping out of line." It comes from the Latin root word praevaricari, which literally translates as "walk crookedly."
Vocabulary lists containing prevarication
In Cold Blood
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Silas Marner
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Nickel and Dimed
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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.
The source who alerted The Times to VOA’s decision feared it suggested prevarication by the administration.
From Washington Times • Oct. 25, 2023
When he was asked at a news conference whether he’d received the Covid-19 vaccine, prevarication followed.
From New York Times • Jul. 24, 2023
Six years later, Disney+'s "Andor," the backstory of Diego Luna's rebel spy, requires no such prevarication.
From Salon • Sep. 23, 2022
Ribeiro is accused of influence peddling, corruption, prevarication, and administrative advocacy – meaning under Brazilian law he could have used his ministerial job to promote private interests.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 22, 2022
The ad is for “customer service” work, a type of job I tend to avoid because it normally involves a resume, which in turn would involve levels of prevarication I am not prepared to attempt.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
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.
