prevarication

[pri-var-i-key-shuh n]

See more synonyms for prevarication on Thesaurus.com

noun

the act of prevaricating, or lying: Seeing the expression on his mother's face, Nathan realized this was no time for prevarication.
a false or deliberate misstatement; lie: Her many prevarications had apparently paid off; she was free to go.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for prevarication

falsehood, equivocation, dishonesty, fib, lie, deceitfulness, distortion, tale, untruth, deception, fabrication

Examples from the Web for prevarication

Historical Examples of prevarication

Calendar, he believed, was capable of prevarication, polite and impolite.
The Black Bag
Louis Joseph Vance
There was no prevarication or difficulty with the only witness examined.
Memoirs of the Court of George IV. 1820-1830 (Vol 1)
Duke of Buckingham and Chandos
He had so ingenious a manner of prevarication that he actually believed his own tales.
A Pirate of Parts
Richard Neville
I scorn a lie—my prayer is to leave every prevarication behind.
Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, Vol. 13
Elbert Hubbard
Mind, I must have truthful and straightforward answers—no prevarication.'
Aunt Mary
Mrs. Perring

Word Origin and History for prevarication

late 14c., "divergence from a right course, transgression," from Old French prevaricacion "breaking of God's laws, disobedience (to the Faith)" (12c., Modern French prévarication) and directly from Latin praevaricationem (nominative praevaricatio) "duplicity, collusion, a stepping out of line (of duty or behavior)," noun of action from past participle stem of praevaricari "to make a sham accusation, deviate," literally "walk crookedly," in Church Latin, "to transgress," from prae "before" (see pre-) + varicare "to straddle," from varicus "straddling," from varus "bowlegged, knock-kneed" (see varus). Meaning "evasion, quibbling" is attested from 1650s.