evasive

adjective

eva·​sive i-ˈvā-siv 

-ziv,

ē-

: tending or intended to evade : equivocal

evasive answers

evasively adverb

evasiveness noun

Synonyms

• elusive

Examples of evasive in a Sentence

She gave an evasive answer.

They took evasive action to avoid capture.

Recent Examples on the Web

At the press conference that caps his visit, Schoof is evasive when asked if the Dutch will agree to the 5% goal. —Adam Rasmi, Time, 20 June 2025

Tahereh is a victim here, but the documentary is evasive in its approach to the central crime. —Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 6 June 2025

Hill’s attorney Fritz Scheller said in the Friday filing that his team had a difficult time interviewing Lewis over the course of two depositions, finding her answers evasive and at times dishonest. —Ryan Gillespie, The Orlando Sentinel, 2 June 2025

Men and women respond to the Nazi dictatorship by becoming, at best, evasive and feebly self-justifying, at worst, morally broken. —David Denby, New Yorker, 23 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1637, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

evasive

adjective

eva·​sive i-ˈvā-siv 

-ziv

: tending or meant to evade

gave an evasive answer

evasively adverb

evasiveness noun

Legal Definition

evasive

adjective

eva·​sive i-ˈvā-siv, -ziv 

: tending or intending to evade

Note: Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(a)(4), an evasive or incomplete answer to an interrogatory or to a question at a deposition is treated as a failure to answer and may be subject to an opponent's motion to compel an answer.

evasively adverb

evasiveness noun