prevaricate

prevaricate
v
1. lie, equivocate, stretch the truth, be untruthful, be a liar, Inf. tell a story, deviate from the truth; fib, euphemize, shilly-shally, evade, sidestep; dodge, fence, hedge, beat about the bush; elude, shy, weasel, be evasive, evade the truth, shuffle, shift, parry, beg the question, dissemble; fake, counterfeit, Inf. fake it, Inf. talk a good game; play a double game, play false, hoodwink; pettifog, quibble, cavil, split hairs, mince words, stickle, trifle.
2. falsify, belie, misrepresent, distort or twist the truth, misinform, mislead, construe falsely, put a false construction on, give a false color to; put on, pretend, sham, make-believe, sail under false colors; pervert, distort, strain, warp, twist, slant, color; gild, varnish, gloss, doctor, dress up, embellish, embroider, Inf. titivate, Inf. talk through one's hat, Inf. speak with forked tongue; deceive, lead [s.o.] down or up the garden path, throw [s.o.] off the scent, put [s.o.] on a false scent; drag or draw a red herring across the trail; disguise or mask the truth, conceal or hide the truth, cover up, Inf. deodorize, Inf. whitewash.
3. tell a lie or falsehood, fabricate, invent, manufacture, make up, trump up; hatch, concoct, Inf. cook up, Inf. make out of whole cloth; exaggerate, hyperbolize, inflate, blow up, puff up; magnify, enlarge on, overkill, carry too far, caricature, travesty, burlesque, make a mockery of the truth; slander, defame, libel, calumniate, traduce; perjure oneself, swear falsely, forswear, lie in one's teeth, lie flatly, speak falsely, bear false witness, lie like a trooper, lie like a rug.

A Note on the Style of the synonym finder. 2014.

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  • prevaricate — prevaricate, procrastinate 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 …   Modern English usage

  • Prevaricate — Pre*var i*cate, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Prevaricated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Prevaricating}.] [L. praevaricatus, p. p. of praevaricari to walk crookedly, to collude; prae before + varicare to straddle, fr. varicus straddling, varus bent. See {Varicose}.] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • prevaricate — I verb be dishonest, be evasive, be untruthful, bear false witness, beg the question, belie, conceal the truth, concoct, counterfeit, deceive, defraud, delude, deviate, deviate from the truth, dissemble, dissimulate, distort, dodge, dupe, elude,… …   Law dictionary

  • prevaricate — [pri var′i kāt΄] vi. prevaricated, prevaricating [< L praevaricatus, pp. of praevaricari, to prevaricate, lit., to walk crookedly < prae , before + varicare, to straddle < varicus, straddling < varus, bent apart < IE base * wa > …   English World dictionary

  • Prevaricate — Pre*var i*cate, v. t. To evade by a quibble; to transgress; to pervert. [Obs.] Jer. Taylor. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • prevaricate — 1580s, to transgress, from L. praevaricari to make a sham accusation, deviate, lit. walk crookedly; in Church L., to transgress (see PREVARICATION (Cf. prevarication)). Meaning to speak evasively is from 1630s. Related: Prevaricated;… …   Etymology dictionary

  • prevaricate — [v] deceive; stretch the truth beat around the bush*, beg the question*, belie, cavil, con, distort, dodge, equivocate, evade, exaggerate, fabricate, falsify, fib, garble, hedge, invent, jive*, lie*, misrepresent, misspeak, palter, phony up*, put …   New thesaurus

  • prevaricate — ► VERB ▪ avoid giving a direct answer when asked a question. DERIVATIVES prevarication noun prevaricator noun. ORIGIN originally in the sense «transgress»: from Latin praevaricari walk crookedly, deviate …   English terms dictionary

  • prevaricate — verb /prɪˈvaɹɪkeɪt,pɹɪˈvæɹɪkeɪt,pɹɪˈvɛɹɪkeɪt/ a) To shift or turn from direct speech or behaviour; to evade the truth; to waffle or be (intentionally) ambiguous. The people saw the politician prevaricate every day. b) To behave in an evasive way… …   Wiktionary

  • prevaricate — [[t]prɪvæ̱rɪkeɪt[/t]] prevaricates, prevaricating, prevaricated VERB If you prevaricate, you avoid giving a direct answer or making a firm decision. British ministers continued to prevaricate. Derived words: prevarication… …   English dictionary

  • prevaricate — [prɪ varɪkeɪt] verb speak or act evasively. Derivatives prevarication noun prevaricator noun Origin C16 (earlier (ME) as prevarication and prevaricator), in the sense go astray, transgress : from L. praevaricat , praevaricari walk crookedly,… …   English new terms dictionary

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