pre·var·i·cate

(prĭ-văr′ĭ-kāt′)

v. pre·var·i·cat·ed, pre·var·i·cat·ing, pre·var·i·cates

v.intr.

1. To speak or write evasively. See Synonyms at lie².

2. (Usage Problem) To behave in an indecisive manner; delay or procrastinate.

v.tr.

To utter or say in an evasive manner.

[Latin praevāricārī, praevāricāt-, to straddle across (something), collude (used of lawyers) : prae-, pre- + vāricāre, to straddle (from vāricus, straddling, from vārus, bow-legged, bandy).]

pre·var′i·ca′tion n.

pre·var′i·ca′tor n.

Usage Note: The traditional meaning of prevaricate is "to speak or write evasively." In recent years, a second sense has developed, meaning "to behave in an indecisive manner; delay or procrastinate," perhaps influenced by equivocate, which primarily means "to speak evasively" but can also mean "to be indecisive." In American English, this second sense is widely considered an error, and a large majority of the Usage Panel finds it unacceptable. In 2011, 78 percent of the Panel disapproved of the "delay" sense of the word as used in the sentence He prevaricated for some two years before accepting the new design for production. This usage is more commonly encountered in British English, as in this quotation from the BBC News: As the industry prevaricated, sales collapsed.

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.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

prevaricator - a person who has lied or who lies repeatedly

liar

beguiler, cheater, deceiver, trickster, slicker, cheat - someone who leads you to believe something that is not true

false witness, perjurer - a person who deliberately gives false testimony

fabricator, fibber, storyteller - someone who tells lies

prevaricator

noun

One who tells lies:

fabricator, fabulist, falsifier, fibber, liar.

Informal: storyteller.

Law: perjurer.

Translations

prevaricator

n → Ausweichtaktiker(in) m(f)

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