evade
Americanverb (used with object)
-
evades,
present (3rd person singular)
-
evaded,
past participle, past
-
evading
present participle
-
to escape from by trickery or cleverness.
to evade one's pursuers.
-
to get around by trickery.
to evade rules.
-
to avoid doing or fulfilling.
to evade an obligation.
-
to avoid answering directly.
to evade a question.
-
The solution evaded him.
verb (used without object)
-
evades,
present (3rd person singular)
-
evaded,
past participle, past
-
evading
present participle
-
to avoid doing or fulfilling something.
-
to elude or get away from someone or something by craft or slyness; escape.
verb
-
to get away from or avoid (imprisonment, captors, etc); escape
-
to get around, shirk, or dodge (the law, a duty, etc)
-
(also intr) to avoid answering (a question)
Synonym Usage
See escape.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
evadernoun
-
preevadeverb (used with object)
-
evadableadjective
-
evadibleadjective
-
nonevadableadjective
-
nonevadibleadjective
-
nonevadingadjective
-
unevadableadjective
-
unevadedadjective
-
unevadibleadjective
-
unevadingadjective
-
evadinglyadverb
-
nonevadinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
evadesimple
-
evadessimple
-
have evadedperfect
-
has evadedperfect
-
am evadingprogressive
-
are evadingprogressive
-
is evadingprogressive
-
have been evadingperfect progressive
-
has been evadingperfect progressive
Past
-
evadedsimple
-
had evadedperfect
-
was evadingprogressive
-
were evadingprogressive
-
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from all 4 Acts
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Refugee
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
The following day, lawyers for She’s Alive asked the court to deny this motion, arguing that Seaver “attempted to evade service of process” and that the “court should not reward that behavior.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
That makes reconstructing the detector and designing carefully tailored adversarial changes that can evade it considerably more difficult.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026
Distance, not just walls, makes it easier to evade responsibility — and to discourage questions.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has repeatedly threatened secondary sanctions against foreign companies that help Iran to evade U.S. economic restrictions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
Eva would evade them, escape into Berlin, hide there, and miraculously survive the war.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
Chip falls in with a troupe of street performers, evades the police, juggles along the Seine and eventually wanders into a smoky bar, where Penelope is strumming her guitar.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026
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
"I could never understand how this simple truth evades the leaders of France, Britain, Canada and others."
From BBC ● May 22, 2025
“Not everything’s about you,” Alyssa says, but the way she evades Jacqui’s glare tells me that this time it is.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
It has also prompted public outrage as to how a fugitive father, who had three children with him, could have evaded authorities for so long.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
People walking on the boardwalk narrowly evaded getting hit, with one woman jumping over the railing just in time before the car sped by.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
The U.S. warships evaded the attacks, but American officials are concerned that Iran has improved its ability to target ships.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Mladic was dismissed from his post after being indicted in 1995, but he evaded capture for another 16 years.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
Sure, like Ross Wilcox would’ve evaded capture and headed a resistance cell.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
Relatively inexpensive to make, they are evading Ukrainian air defenses and hunting down their targets more quickly than their propeller-powered predecessors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Relatively inexpensive to make, they are evading Ukrainian air defenses and striking their targets more quickly than their propeller-powered predecessors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
This time, Yoane Wissa went on a brilliant run through the centre - evading an array of Liverpool players - and played the ball to Joe Willock, who finished in style.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Incidents of such loss of control continue to be catnip for AI ethicists, who contend that companies are evading moral responsibilities and accountability by describing it as their AI making its own choices.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
“I am happy Reb Saunders knows now about his son’s reading,” he said quietly, evading my question.
From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok
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.
