evasion

noun

eva·​sion i-ˈvā-zhən 

ē-

1

: a means of evading : dodge

Bankruptcy becomes a kind of evasion when firms, some of them still profitable, attempt to avoid obligations that are merely inconvenient.

—Mary Graham

2

: the act or an instance of evading : escape

suspected of tax evasion

Synonyms of evasion

• escape
• avoidance

Examples of evasion in a Sentence

He was arrested for tax evasion.

They came up with an evasion of the law to keep all the land for themselves.

His reply was nothing but careful evasions.

Recent Examples on the Web

Go-fast vessels, which are commonly used to transport drugs in the Caribbean and Pacific regions, are designed for speed and evasion. —Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Dec. 2025

In all, the usual cinematic run of crime and evasion, desperate measures and paranoid obsessions, reverberate with a specific sense of playing for more than a payday or a romance. —Justin Chang, New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2025

Unfortunately, since these gentlemen are used to being ignored, my more polite evasions serve only to encourage them to continue these unwanted conversations. —Judith Martin, Mercury News, 2 Dec. 2025

Brazilian police launched Thursday a police operation to dismantle a major tax evasion and money-laundering scheme in the fuel sector. —Arkansas Online, 28 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French or Late Latin; Anglo-French, from Late Latin evasion-, evasio, from Latin evadere to evade

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for evasion

• abrasion
• caucasian
• equation
• eurasian
• invasion
• occasion
• persuasion
• asian
• suasion
• athanasian

Kids Definition

evasion

noun

eva·​sion i-ˈvā-zhən 

1

: a means of evading

2

: the act or an instance of evading : escape

tax evasion

Legal Definition

evasion

noun

eva·​sion i-ˈvā-zhən 

1

: a means of evading

2

: the act or an instance of evading see also tax evasion