evasion

American  

[ih-vey-zhuhn] / ɪˈveɪ ʒən /

noun

• evasions
  plural

1. an act or instance of escaping, avoiding, or shirking something.

   evasion of one's duty.

   Synonyms:

   avoidance

2. the avoiding of an argument, accusation, question, or the like, as by a subterfuge.

   The old political boss was notorious for his practice of evasion.

   Synonyms:

   quibbling, equivocation, prevarication

3. a means of evading; subterfuge; an excuse or trick to avoid or get around something.

   Her polite agreement was an evasion concealing what she really felt.

4. physical or mental escape.

5. an act or instance of violating the tax laws by failing or refusing to pay all or part of one's taxes.

---

evasion British  

/ ɪˈveɪʒən /

noun

1. the act of evading or escaping, esp from a distasteful duty, responsibility, etc, by trickery, cunning, or illegal means

   tax evasion

2. trickery, cunning, or deception used to dodge a question, duty, etc; means of evading

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonevasion
  noun
• preevasion
  noun
• reevasion
  noun
• evasional
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• evasions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of evasion

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin ēvāsiōn- (stem of ēvāsiō ), equivalent to ēvās ( us ) (past participle of ēvādere to go out; see evade) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

Evasion is the act of physically escaping from something, like your evasion of your ex-girlfriend at the prom — you kept dancing. Now that's fancy footwork. Evasion also means "dodging something you are supposed to do" like your evasion of your chores by pretending to be sick. Evasion can also mean "the deliberate act of failing to pay money," like tax evasion, not paying your taxes. Though evasion comes from the Latin word evadere, "to escape," if you owe the government money, you'll surely be caught eventually.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

evasion evasions

It can also delay payments and investment and use its long established sanctions evasion networks to keep trade flowing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

Earlier this year, ministers announced a £30m enforcement operation targeting high street businesses suspected of money laundering, tax evasion and illegal working.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

It said no personal details would be taken and existing processes for deliberate fare evasion or non-payment remain unchanged.

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

“If the United States wants to really get tough on combating Iranian sanctions evasion, it has to look to China,” said Max Meizlish of U.S. think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

To deny its powerful, subsisting reality would be to endorse a simplistic and ultimately unhelpful evasion.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

For all its careful evasions, I believe that the Michael this movie reveals is true and worth watching.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026

Their attempts to explain their evasions made things worse.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026

She added: "Families who have suffered deserve honesty, transparency and a full apology – not evasions and excuses."

From BBC ● Jan. 25, 2026

But his evasions are getting harder to maintain.

From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2025

A little overwhelmed, I began the generalized evasions which that question deserves.

From " The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Related Words

• dodging