adjective
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tending or seeking to evade; avoiding the issue; not straightforward
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avoiding or seeking to avoid trouble or difficulties
to take evasive action
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hard to catch or obtain; elusive
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of evasive
Explanation
To be evasive is to avoid something, whether it's a touchy subject or the person who's "it" in a game of tag. If you're dodging the truth and not giving straight answers, then you're being evasive. Which is probably not the best strategy when the police are asking the questions. From the French évasif, it’s an adjective that describes someone who's being intentionally shifty or vague. But a concept that’s hard to pin down or comprehend can also be considered evasive.
Vocabulary lists containing evasive
Freak the Mighty
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "E"
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And Then There Were None
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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.
Blake was, by turns, crude, evasive, combative and menacing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
Andy Burrows, chief executive of Molly Rose Foundation, a UK-based online safety charity, welcomed the report, calling big tech platforms "complacent and evasive when it comes to protecting children from preventable harm".
From BBC ● May 21, 2026
He described him as "distracted, not focussed, guarded, suspicious and evasive".
From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2026
Yet Le Carré could also be evasive about this overlap, having denied the extent of his spying for many years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 26, 2026
And in a third evasive maneuver, many students and politicians stay away from the pronouns I, me, and you.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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.
