e·vade
(ĭ-vād′)v. e·vad·ed, e·vad·ing, e·vades
v.tr.1. To escape or avoid, especially by cleverness or deceit: managed to evade their pursuers; went underground in order to evade arrest.
2. a. To avoid complying with or fulfilling: evade the draft; evaded any legal responsibility.
b. To fail to make payment of (taxes).
3. To avoid giving a direct answer to: talked at length but evaded the interviewer's question.
4. To be beyond the memory or understanding of: The point of the article evades me.
v.intr.1. To use cleverness or deceit in avoiding or escaping something.
2. To avoid complying with or fulfilling a requirement.
[French évader, from Latin ēvādere : ē-, ex-, ex- + vādere, to go.]
e·vad′a·ble, e·vad′i·ble adj.
e·vad′er n.
Synonyms: evade, elude, avoid, eschew
These verbs mean to get or stay away from something or someone undesirable. Evade implies adroit maneuvering and sometimes suggests dishonesty or irresponsibility: tried to evade jury duty. To elude is to get away from artfully: eluded their pursuers. Avoid suggests a prudent or deliberate effort to stay away from what is unpleasant, harmful, or disadvantageous: took the back roads to avoid the heavy traffic; followed his doctor's advice to avoid strenuous exercise. Eschew is a formal equivalent of avoid: "Eschew evil, and do good" (King James Bible).
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.