prevaricate
verb
[ prɪˈvarɪkeɪt ]
• speak or act in an evasive way.
• "he seemed to prevaricate when journalists asked pointed questions"
Similar:
be evasive,
beat about the bush,
hedge,
fence,
shilly-shally,
shuffle,
dodge (the issue),
sidestep (the issue),
pussyfoot,
equivocate,
be non-committal,
parry questions,
be vague,
vacillate,
quibble,
cavil,
lie,
temporize,
stall,
stall for time,
hum and haw,
duck the issue,
palter,
tergiversate,
Origin:
mid 16th century (earlier (Middle English) as prevarication and prevaricator ), in the sense ‘go astray, transgress’: from Latin praevaricat- ‘walked crookedly, deviated’, from the verb praevaricari, from prae ‘before’ + varicari ‘straddle’.
