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

Sanctions evasion is costly While the economic headwinds are manageable in the short term, the long term could be a different story. —Lauren Kent, CNN Money, 20 Dec. 2025

And according to the whistleblower’s attorney, the settlement payment is one of the largest in custom duties’ evasion cases. —Desiree Mathurin december 19, Charlotte Observer, 19 Dec. 2025

Detection tools must be publicly available to be useful, but that same transparency enables evasion. —Ambuj Tewari, The Conversation, 18 Dec. 2025

The county transit system reported losing $4 million in revenue to fare evasion in 2024. —Jessie Opoien, jsonline.com, 12 Dec. 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