evade
Americanverb (used with object)
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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.
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The solution evaded him.
verb (used without object)
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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)
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(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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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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"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from all 4 Acts
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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.
Trump signed a second executive order directing agencies and government security experts to prepare for quantum systems that can evade standard encryption more quickly than previously anticipated.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 22, 2026
First, his boat with around 160 people on board, including women and children, managed to evade the extra naval patrols off Mauritania and Senegal.
From BBC • Jun. 11, 2026
Scientists have identified a previously unknown mechanism that may be helping cancers evade the immune system.
From Science Daily • Jun. 9, 2026
This solved two critical problems for Blanche: His boss gets to claim victory while the acting attorney general can legally evade judicial accountability.
From Slate • Jun. 4, 2026
By the very attempt to evade notice, he had brought on himself the conspicuous place of last.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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.
