prevaricate
pronunciation
How to pronounce prevaricate in British English:
UK [prɪˈværɪkeɪt]
How to pronounce prevaricate in American English:
US [prɪˈværɪˌket]
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- Verb:
- be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information
Word Origin
- prevaricate
- prevaricate: [16] Etymologically, prevaricate means ‘walk crookedly’, and it goes back ultimately to a Latin adjective meaning ‘knockkneed’, varus. From this was derived the verb vāricāre ‘straddle’, which was combined with the prefix prae- ‘before, beyond’ to produce praevāricārī ‘walk crookedly’, hence ‘deviate’. This developed in English to ‘deviate from straightforward behaviour’, hence ‘be evasive, equivocate’.
- prevaricate (v.)
- 1580s, "to transgress," a back formation from prevarication, or else from Latin praevaricatus, past participle of praevaricari "to make a sham accusation, deviate," literally "walk crookedly;" in Church Latin, "to transgress" (see prevarication). Meaning "to speak evasively" is from 1630s. Related: Prevaricated; prevaricating.
Example
- 1. He loudly opposes torture while his republican colleagues prevaricate .
- 2. Mr karzai may prevaricate , but afghan political leaders have no intention of going the same way as iraq , where the withdrawal of immunity triggered the exit of american forces .
- 3. They should be declared invalid and certainly not be abused as a bureaucratic hurdle to prevaricate in a dangerous crisis .
- 4. And while western companies prevaricate , countries such as india and brazil are producing some highly impressive companies that often beat those western multinationals at their own game and with innovations aplenty .
- 5. Even as chinese leaders prevaricate and take half-measures to address the underlying causes of inflation , these problems are not being dealt with .