prevaricate

(prĭ-văr'ĭ-kāt')
intr.v., -cat·ed, -cat·ing, -cates.
To stray from or evade the truth; equivocate. See synonyms at lie².

[Latin praevāricārī, praevāricāt- : prae-, pre- + vāricāre, to straddle (from vāricus, straddling , from vārus, bent).]

prevarication pre·var'i·ca'tion n.
prevaricator pre·var'i·ca'tor n.

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Because their meanings, or at least the implications of their meanings, overlap, these two words are often confused. To prevaricate (derived from Latin praevaricari meaning literally 'to walk crookedly') is 'to speak or act evasively', whereas to procrastinate (derived from Latin cras meaning 'tomorrow') is 'to put off or delay'. You might prevaricate in order to procrastinate, but the senses should be carefully distinguished. Examples:

She prevaricated, wanting the story verified or denied before sharing it with him—L. Grant-Adamson, 1989

Coleridge never arrived, and early in January the now beleaguered Southey decided that his endlessly procrastinating friend must be brought back from London—T. Mayberry, 1992.

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verb

1. To stray from truthfulness or sincerity: equivocate, palter, shuffle. See true/false.
2. To make untrue declarations: falsify, fib, forswear, lie². Law perjure. See true/false.

v

Definition: deceive; stretch the truth
Antonyms: tell truth

A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce

n.

A liar in the caterpillar estate.

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IN BRIEF: To lie.

You will always be found out by your parents if you prevaricate.

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For a list of words related to prevaricate, see:

• Modes and Manners of Expression - prevaricate: speak evasively; lie
• Falsehood, Pretense, and Exaggeration - prevaricate: (vb) equivocate; veer from truth

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See words rhyming with "prevaricate."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Prevaricate.

Dansk (Danish)
v. intr. - svare undvigende

Nederlands (Dutch)
(waarheid) omzeilen

Français (French)
v. intr. - user d'équivoques, tergiverser

Deutsch (German)
v. - Ausflüchte machen

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - ανακριβολογώ, ψεύδομαι, (καθομ.) υπεκφεύγω, τα μασάω

Italiano (Italian)
tergiversare

Português (Portuguese)
v. - prevaricar, mentir

Русский (Russian)
уклоняться, изворачиваться

Español (Spanish)
v. intr. - andar con rodeos, tergiversar, prevaricar

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - svara undvikande, slingra sig

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
支吾其辞, 撒谎, 搪塞

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. intr. - 支吾其辭, 撒謊, 搪塞

한국어 (Korean)
v. intr. - 얼버무려 넘기다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 言い紛らす, うそをつく

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يراوغ‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. intr. - ‮התחמק מלומר אמת, שיקר, אמר חצאי-אמת‬

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