evade
Americanverb (used with object)
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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.
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The solution evaded him.
verb (used without object)
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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)
Related Words
See escape.
Other Word Forms
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.
The move signals the administration is raising pressure on Baghdad to sever its economic ties to Tehran, which has long used its neighbor to evade international sanctions and as a source of hard currency.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026
Moving laterally allows crabs to travel quickly in either direction, making it easier to evade predators.
From Science Daily • May 2, 2026
Such a ruling would allow people to maintain their legal status, keep their families intact, continue to work and bolster local economies, and evade danger in their home country.
From Salon • Apr. 30, 2026
Court documents describe her "repeated use of informal exchange entities across multiple transactions" in the arms deals as a "deliberate effort... to evade US sanctions".
From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026
Sailors were discussing whether the ship should follow a zigzag course to evade lurking submarines and whether the navigation lights would be illuminated.
From "Salt to the Sea" by Ruta Sepetys
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.
