evade
Americanverb (used with object)
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evades,
present (3rd person singular)
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evaded,
past participle, past
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evading
present participle
-
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.
-
The solution evaded him.
verb (used without object)
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evades,
present (3rd person singular)
-
evaded,
past participle, past
-
evading
present participle
-
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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preevadeverb (used with object)
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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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am evadingprogressive
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are 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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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.
See Examples For:
Iran has weathered decades of crushing international sanctions, and before the war it continued to export millions of barrels of oil, mostly to China, and evade sanctions through complex international financial networks.
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
While lawyers for the Tates acknowledged that bail in international extradition proceedings was unusual, they said the brothers had shown no reason to think they plan to evade criminal prosecution.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 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
Iran has long said the Kheibar Shekan can maneuver in the final stage of its flight to evade air defenses, he added.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
“Don’t evade the question. Either you know it, or you don’t know it. Which is it to be?”
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
In lab studies, the Cicada subvariant efficiently evades immunity from a prior vaccination or infection, according to a report published by the U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2026
“It seems sometimes progress evades us,” Walker says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 25, 2025
Less smug but still rather inscrutable, he sips on tea and evades answering Arisu’s question directly, instead turning the tables.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 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
“Rats have no thumbs and therefore cannot do many things that we can. They cannot make tools or weapons. They are masters of destruction, but creation evades them,” said Vikus.
From "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins
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
The rat evaded the question and made a great show of rubbing his injured leg.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
First, Jefferson ran from one sideline to the other in the backfield, evading would-be defenders.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
The Justice Department this year dropped its long-running prosecution of Turkish state-owned lender Halkbank for allegedly evading U.S. sanctions on Iran.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
It can also be deeply damaging when it becomes a means of evading the truth.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
An "extremely intelligent" bear that injured four people in northern Japan remains at large as of Friday, after apparently unlatching a window while evading capture and turning on a water tap, officials said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026
Sarai asked, evading the question, and she took her cup from the tray in Less Ellen’s hands and filled it from the little teapot.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
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.
