evasion

American  

[ih-vay-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.

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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

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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

And while we are frequently encouraged to consider how our minds “fill in the gaps” when creating meaning, such evasion clashes with our impulse to engage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

"The fines are pretty high for having that in your fuel tank because its considered tax evasion."

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

Iza is awaiting sentencing in the Central District of California on charges of conspiracy against rights, wire fraud and tax evasion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

"What we found is a plausible mechanism by which hyperglycemia directly contributes to immune evasion," said Tharp.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 2026

He respected the law, the nation, and tradition, and no one could accuse him of any greater offense than tax evasion.

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende

All that’s left are defensive denials, evasions of Nazi collaboration and the faint hope that something higher has survived.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026

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

From BBC ● Jan. 25, 2026

His early evasions on emancipation, then, were less weakness than strategy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025

But his evasions are getting harder to maintain.

From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2025

“Aren’t we past all the evasions now?” he reminded me softly.

From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer

Related Words

• dodging