evade
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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.
-
to get around by trickery.
to evade rules.
-
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)
-
(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:
These artificial organisms could behave in unpredictable ways when interacting with Earth's ecosystems and might evade certain natural defenses that protect people, animals, and plants.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026
Acton has not seen her mother since the Arthurs fled Ohio in an effort to evade justice nearly five decades ago.
From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2026
Police in Cyprus have opened an investigation into the financial affairs of Roman Abramovich, following revelations by BBC Panorama that accountancy firm Deloitte helped in falsifying documents to hide his wealth and evade tax.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
He then allegedly tried to evade officials by using multiple identities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
Eleanor had an answer for everything—but she still managed to evade most of Park's questions.
From "Eleanor & Park" by Rainbow Rowell
Whenever I try to ask him about specific attacks that took place in civilian areas, he evades the question.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
She evades that reality in “107 Days,” in which she dismisses antiwar protesters at her rallies as mere “hecklers.”
From Salon ● May 5, 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
When we try measuring one way, our substance evades it and seems to prefer another, but when we try a different way, we have no more success.
From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman
Roughly 1,200 agents worked in what they called a “collective,” deliberately evaded detection, created their own message board, and exchanged 70,000 communications.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Mythos, developed by Anthropic, was said by the firm to be able to find weaknesses in systems in seconds which have long evaded human hackers.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 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
Friends and family have largely evaded questions - among them Kelce's sister-in-law.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
“I have tried once or twice, but she either evaded my questions or looked so distressed that I stopped. I never force my children’s confidence, and I seldom have to wait for long.”
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
He compared the plight of ultra-Orthodox men evading the military draft to the persecution of Jews during the Holocaust.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026
Lawyers for Abramovich have said that he denies evading tax or concealing his fortune.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
Navy and Gulf oil producers have become better at fending off or evading Iranian attacks, allowing more tankers to cross the strait.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
First, Jefferson ran from one sideline to the other in the backfield, evading would-be defenders.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
“Uncle Freddy can’t see much,” Alexander said, and the children giggled, as if from long experience evading the blurry-eyed master of Ashton Place.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
