prevaricate

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Pronunciation 1.3 Verb 1.3.1 Quotations 1.3.2 Derived terms 1.3.3 Translations 1.4 See also 2 Italian 2.1 Verb

[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

From Latin praevāricārī, "to walk crookedly, to play a false or double part", from vāricāre, "to stand with feet apart, straddle", from vārus, "deviating from the right line, bent outwards, different", from Proto-Indo-European wā-, "to bend apart" (the root of "various").

[edit] Pronunciation

• IPA: /prɪˈværɪkeɪt/
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}

[edit] Verb

to prevaricate (third-person singular simple present prevaricates, present participle prevaricating, simple past and past participle prevaricated)

1. (intransitive) To shift or turn from the direct course, or from truth; to evade the truth; to waffle or be (intentionally) ambiguous.

   The people saw the politician prevaricate every day.

2. (intransitive) To speak with equivocation; to shuffle; to quibble.
3. (intransitive) To collude, as where an informer colludes with the defendant, and makes a sham prosecution.

[edit] Quotations

• 1878 — Thomas Hardy, The Return of the Native, Book 4, ch 1

  At the moment of her departure he could prevaricate no longer, and, confessing to the gambling, told her the truth as far as he knew it--that the guineas had been won by Wildeve.

[edit] Derived terms

• prevarication
• prevaricator

[edit] Translations

[edit] See also

• lie

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[edit] Italian

[edit] Verb

prevaricate

1. Second-person plural present tense of prevaricare.
2. Second-person plural imperative of prevaricare.
3. Feminine plural of prevaricato.