evade

verb

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\ i-ˈvād

, ē- \

evaded; evading

Definition of evade

intransitive verb

1 : to slip away

2 : to take refuge in escape or avoidance

transitive verb

1 : to elude by dexterity or stratagem

2a : to avoid facing up to evaded the real issues

b : to avoid the performance of : dodge, circumvent especially : to fail to pay (taxes)

c : to avoid answering directly : turn aside

3 : to be elusive to : baffle the simple, personal meaning evaded them— C. D. Lewis

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Choose the Right Synonym for evade

escape, avoid, evade, elude, shun, eschew mean to get away or keep away from something. escape stresses the fact of getting away or being passed by not necessarily through effort or by conscious intent. nothing escapes her sharp eyes avoid stresses forethought and caution in keeping clear of danger or difficulty. try to avoid past errors evade implies adroitness, ingenuity, or lack of scruple in escaping or avoiding. evaded the question by changing the subject elude implies a slippery or baffling quality in the person or thing that escapes. what she sees in him eludes me shun often implies an avoiding as a matter of habitual practice or policy and may imply repugnance or abhorrence. you have shunned your responsibilities eschew implies an avoiding or abstaining from as unwise or distasteful. a playwright who eschews melodrama

Examples of evade in a Sentence

The criminals have so far managed to evade the police. a politician skilled at evading difficult questions The governor has been accused of evading the issue.

Recent Examples on the Web That case involved persuading the U.S. government to join Turkish law enforcement entities to thwart Iranian efforts to evade sanctions and to free a Turkish-Iranian gold dealer facing money-laundering and fraud charges in New York City. — Washington Post, "Honduras hired elite D.C. law firm in failed lobbying effort to derail ‘state-sponsored drug trafficking probe’ of president’s brother," 1 Apr. 2021 The history of the slave trade in the United States is, then, a story of significant moves to suppress it in the face of determined efforts to evade the laws against it. — James Oakes, The New York Review of Books, "Why Did the Slave Trade Survive So Long?," 23 Mar. 2021 But that poll was conducted before his aide's admission of deliberately withholding information in order to evade investigators. — Salena Zito, Washington Examiner, "Lee Zeldin is mulling a run for New York governor," 23 Feb. 2021 But the group’s adversaries saw the move as an opportunistic effort to evade a reckoning with the attorney general’s office. — Danny Hakim, New York Times, "N.R.A. Declares Bankruptcy and Seeks to Exit New York," 15 Jan. 2021 Most countries actually wished to meet their treaty obligations (outliers such as North Korea notwithstanding), and their failure to do so often stemmed from a lack of capacity rather than a deliberate attempt to evade responsibilities. — Michael J. Coren, Quartz, "The British monarchy’s latest “treaty” asks CEOs to recognize the rights of nature," 13 Jan. 2021 The Trump administration on Tuesday escalated steps to rein in Iran's activities in the Middle East and North Korea's efforts to evade international sanctions with new penalties against both nations and proxies. — Matthew Lee, Star Tribune, "US hits Iran's envoy to Yemen, Chinese firms with sanctions," 8 Dec. 2020 Deputy Prosecutor Kala Means had pushed the judge to raise Stark's bond to $100,000, describing the 55-year-old man as an extreme flight risk given his previous attempt to evade authorities. — Lucas Aulbach, The Courier-Journal, "Wildlife in Need founder Tim Stark remains in jail in Indiana after first court appearance," 29 Oct. 2020 Among Danish mink, a viral variant appeared that possessed a cluster of mutations not recorded before, changes that allowed the virus to evade some of the immune protection conferred by neutralizing antibodies. — Maryn Mckenna, Wired, "Covid Spilled From Animals to Humans. Now It’s Spilling Back," 22 Mar. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'evade.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.