prevaricate

verb

pre·​var·​i·​cate pri-ˈver-ə-ˌkāt 

-ˈva-rə-

prevaricated; prevaricating

intransitive verb

: to deviate from the truth : equivocate

prevarication

pri-ˌver-ə-ˈkā-shən 

-ˌva-rə-

noun

prevaricator

pri-ˈver-ə-ˌkā-tər 

-ˈva-rə-

noun

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 that person 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.

Synonyms

• lie

Choose the Right Synonym for prevaricate

lie, prevaricate, equivocate, palter, fib mean to tell an untruth.

lie is the blunt term, imputing dishonesty.

lied about where he had been

prevaricate softens the bluntness of lie by implying quibbling or confusing the issue.

during the hearings the witness did his best to prevaricate

equivocate implies using words having more than one sense so as to seem to say one thing but intend another.

equivocated endlessly in an attempt to mislead her inquisitors

palter implies making unreliable statements of fact or intention or insincere promises.

a swindler paltering with his investors

fib applies to a telling of a trivial untruth.

fibbed about the price of the new suit

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 on the Web

Last year he was criticized across the Anglo and German press for prevaricating about the Ukraine war in its early months. —Thomas Meaney, Harper's Magazine, 26 Apr. 2024

Cooper’s script, co-written with Josh Singer (Spotlight, The Post, First Man, all wretched), prevaricates shamelessly through quasi–Harold Pinter style in which Bernstein and associates avoid directly addressing anything. —Armond White, National Review, 22 Dec. 2023

British politicians can say all sorts of rubbish to the BBC that wouldn’t count as a crime, but government ministers are not supposed to knowingly mislead — artfully prevaricate? —Karla Adam, Washington Post, 21 Mar. 2023

Various underlings and bureaucrats would appear on television to prevaricate or lie about what was actually happening, only to get undercut (or fired) by the big boss in a late-night tweet. —Matt Pearce, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2022

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

circa 1625, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

prevaricate

verb

pre·​var·​i·​cate pri-ˈvar-ə-ˌkāt 

prevaricated; prevaricating

: lie entry 3 sense 1

prevarication

-ˌvar-ə-ˈkā-shən 

noun

prevaricator

-ˈvar-ə-ˌkāt-ər 

noun