prevaricate

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. verb be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin praevāricātus, perfect active participle of praevāricor (“to walk crookedly; to play a false or double part”), from prae- + vāricō (“to stand with feet apart, straddle”), from vāricus (“with feet spread apart”); see -ate (verb-forming suffix).

In classic literature

Synonyms

beat around the bush, equivocate, tergiversate, palter

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