prevaricate

verb pre·var·i·cate \ pri-ˈver-ə-ˌkāt , -ˈva-rə- \

Definition of prevaricate

prevaricated; prevaricating

intransitive verb

: to deviate from the truth : equivocate

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prevarication

play \-ˌver-ə-ˈkā-shən, -ˈva-rə-\ noun

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prevaricator

play \-ˈver-ə-ˌkā-tər, -ˈva-rə-\ noun

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Examples of prevaricate in a Sentence

Government officials prevaricated about the real costs of the project.
during the hearings the witness was willing to prevaricate in order to protect his friend

Recent Examples of prevaricate from the Web

Meanwhile, Mohamed Nasheed, the former president whose conviction has now been quashed, prevaricated about returning from exile in Sri Lanka.

— The Economist, "The Maldives’ Supreme Court abruptly orders the release of several opposition politicians," 2 Feb. 2018
But this is the present Congress with the present Republican majorities running things, so Junior walked away to prevaricate another day.

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "This Erik Prince Transcript Is Unbelievable," 8 Dec. 2017
Saudi Arabia, which accounts for about 20% of BAE’s overall sales, has bought more than 70 Typhoons, but is prevaricating over buying another 40 or so.

— The Economist, "Throttling backBAE Systems sheds 2,000 jobs in Britain," 12 Oct. 2017
Chinese state media have prevaricated on the prospects of an oil ban.

— jonathan kaiman, latimes.com, "China announces restrictions on oil supply to North Korea," 23 Sep. 2017
To Clinton’s liberal critics, Warren is Clinton’s opposite: steadfast where Clinton is prevaricating, authentic where Clinton is calculating.

— michelle goldberg, Slate Magazine, "Will We Ever Have a Woman as President?," 31 May 2017
Yes, Trump can delay, prevaricate, obfuscate, annoy and even shut down federal science.

— jeffrey sachs, CNN, "US faces disgrace if Trump drops Paris climate pact," 31 May 2017

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

Did You Know?

Prevaricate and its synonyms "lie" and "equivocate" all refer to playing fast and loose with the truth. "Lie" is the bluntest of the three. When you accuse someone of lying, you are saying he or she was intentionally dishonest, no bones about it. "Prevaricate" is less accusatory and softens the bluntness of "lie," usually implying that someone is evading the truth rather than purposely making false statements. "Equivocate" is similar to "prevaricate," but it generally implies that someone is deliberately using words that have more than one meaning as a way to conceal the truth.

Origin and Etymology of prevaricate

Latin praevaricatus, past participle of praevaricari to act in collusion, literally, to straddle, from prae- + varicare to straddle, from varus bowlegged

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1625

in the meaning defined above

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