evade

verb

i-ˈvād 

ē-

evaded; evading

intransitive verb

1

: to slip away

2

: to take refuge in escape or avoidance

transitive verb

1

: to elude by dexterity or stratagem

2

a

: 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

evadable

i-ˈvā-də-bəl 

ē-

adjective

evader noun

Synonyms

• avoid
• dodge
• duck
• elude
• escape
• eschew
• finesse
• get around
• scape
• shake
• shirk
• shuffle (out of)
• shun
• weasel (out of)

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

Editors’ Picks Two Western officials said that a missile was fired from a warplane far from Israeli or Iranian airspace, and that the weapon included technology that enabled it to evade Iran’s radar defenses. —Luis Ferré-Sadurní, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2024

In his arguments on behalf of Douglas Emmett, Gibson pointed to that same email as evidence that the company wasn’t trying to evade rent control. —Paloma Esquivel, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2024

Vera Drew’s debut feature The People’s Joker evades all easy descriptions. —Jourdain Searles, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Apr. 2024

That month, she had been charged with a misdemeanor for evading police. —Kamal Morgan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Apr. 2024

This system has drawn scrutiny, especially from Republican lawmakers who argue that the federal government is allowing migrants to evade U.S. immigration laws, and have called for an end to the release of migrants at the border. —Rafael Carranza, The Arizona Republic, 12 Apr. 2024

Contreras is charged with robbery, burglary, carjacking, vehicle theft, committing vehicle theft as a repeat offender, evading police and resisting police. —Cameron MacDonald, The Mercury News, 11 Apr. 2024

In Gaza, in their search for hostages, Israeli forces have raided hospitals, dug up gravesites and scoured tunnels used by Hamas to evade capture and hide from Israeli bombs. —Shira Rubin, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024

Many Ukrainian men are evading the draft by hiding at home or trying to bribe their way out of the battle. —Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 4 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle French & Latin; Middle French evader, from Latin evadere, from e- + vadere to go, walk — more at wade

First Known Use

1513, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Phrases Containing evade

• evade capture/arrest
• evade detection

Kids Definition

evade

verb

i-ˈvād 

evaded; evading

1

: to get away from or avoid by skill or trickery

evade a question

evade capture

2

: to escape the understanding of

the meaning of the message evaded them

evadable

-ˈvād-ə-bəl 

adjective

evader noun

Legal Definition

evade

transitive verb

i-ˈvād 

evaded; evading

1

: to unlawfully fail to pay (taxes) through fraudulent or deceptive means compare avoid

2

: to avoid answering directly

trying to evade the question