evade
Americanverb (used with object)
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evades,
present (3rd person singular)
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evaded,
past participle, past
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evading
present participle
-
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.
-
The solution evaded him.
verb (used without object)
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evades,
present (3rd person singular)
-
evaded,
past participle, past
-
evading
present participle
-
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)
-
(also intr) to avoid answering (a question)
Synonym Usage
See escape.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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evadernoun
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preevadeverb (used with object)
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evadableadjective
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evadibleadjective
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nonevadableadjective
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nonevadibleadjective
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nonevadingadjective
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unevadableadjective
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unevadedadjective
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unevadibleadjective
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unevadingadjective
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evadinglyadverb
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nonevadinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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evadesimple
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evadessimple
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have evadedperfect
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has evadedperfect
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am evadingprogressive
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are evadingprogressive
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is evadingprogressive
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have been evadingperfect progressive
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has been evadingperfect progressive
Past
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evadedsimple
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had evadedperfect
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was evadingprogressive
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were evadingprogressive
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had been evadingperfect progressive
Future
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.
See Examples For:
These bacteria are surrounded by protective outer coatings that can help them evade immune defenses.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026
Acton has not seen her mother since the Arthurs fled Ohio in an effort to evade justice nearly five decades ago.
From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2026
Deloitte, which is the world's largest accountancy firm, also appears to have advised on a scheme to evade a huge tax bill on the oligarch's wealth, through the falsification of documents.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
According to the statement, Salceda used multiple identities to evade detection.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
The Jefferson style was to evade, maintain pretenses, then convince himself that all was well.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
In lab studies, the Cicada subvariant efficiently evades immunity from a prior vaccination or infection, according to a report published by the U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2026
“It seems sometimes progress evades us,” Walker says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 25, 2025
Less smug but still rather inscrutable, he sips on tea and evades answering Arisu’s question directly, instead turning the tables.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2025
This "dark matter" is a mysterious entity that evades all forms of direct observation yet makes its presence felt through its invisible pull on visible objects.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 6, 2024
When we try measuring one way, our substance evades it and seems to prefer another, but when we try a different way, we have no more success.
From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman
O'Neill handed a first start to 19-year-old Kieran Morrison, and his superb cross led to Isaac Price doubling the lead, before Brown's header evaded goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk in bizarre circumstances with 30 minutes left.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
The U.S. warships evaded the attacks, but American officials are concerned that Iran has improved its ability to target ships.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Mladic was dismissed from his post after being indicted in 1995, but he evaded capture for another 16 years.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
Mythos, developed by Anthropic, was said by the firm to be able to find weaknesses in systems in seconds which have long evaded human hackers.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
The Shetani’s murderous reputation was frightening enough, but it was the fact that the monster had evaded capture for so many years that set her on edge.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
Lawyers for Abramovich have said that he denies evading tax or concealing his fortune.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
Relatively inexpensive to make, they are evading Ukrainian air defenses and hunting down their targets more quickly than their propeller-powered predecessors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
The man was arrested on suspicion of felony evading, according to the LAPD.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
Almásy shelters Katharine in a cave and goes off to get help, eventually evading arrest and stealing an airplane to rescue her.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
It ruined my chance to play the game of evading the conductor with my pals.
From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
