prevaricate

== English == === Alternative forms === prævaricate (archaic) === 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). === Pronunciation === (UK) IPA(key): /pɹɪˈvaɹɪkeɪt/ (US) IPA(key): /pɹɪˈvæɹɪkeɪt/, /pɹɪˈvɛɹɪkeɪt/ === Verb === prevaricate (third-person singular simple present prevaricates, present participle prevaricating, simple past and past participle prevaricated) (transitive, intransitive, obsolete) To deviate, transgress; to go astray (from). (intransitive) To speak or act in a manner that is intentionally ambiguous or evasive; equivocate. Synonyms: equivocate, waffle, evade Antonym: direct (intransitive, law) To collude, as where an informer colludes with the defendant, and makes a sham prosecution. (law, UK) To undertake something falsely and deceitfully, with the purpose of defeating or destroying it. ==== Synonyms ==== ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === See also === lie === References === “prevaricate”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. == Italian == === Etymology 1 === ==== Verb ==== prevaricate inflection of prevaricare: second-person plural present indicative second-person plural imperative === Etymology 2 === ==== Participle ==== prevaricate f pl feminine plural of prevaricato == Spanish == === Verb === prevaricate second-person singular voseo imperative of prevaricar combined with te