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prevarication

noun
/pɹɪˌvæɹ.ɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin praevāricātiō (“collusion with an opponent; duplicity, deceit; violation of duty, transgression”, literally “stepping out of line”), from praevāricor (“to walk crookedly; go astray; transgress”) + -tās. The virtually obsolete sense of deviation or transgression may have been influenced by an earlier stage of borrowing via Middle English prevaricacioun, prevaricacion (“deviation from the law; transgression”) from Anglo-Norman prevaricaciun (“transgression, violation of correct conduct”).

  1. derived from prevaricaciun — “transgression, violation of correct conduct”
  2. derived from prevaricacioun
  3. borrowed from praevāricātiō — “collusion with an opponent; duplicity, deceit; violation of duty, transgression”

Definitions

  1. Evasion of the truth.

    • Prevarication became the order of the day in his government while truth was a stranger in those halls.
    • The trumpet—vvill it ſound? the curtain riſe? And ſhow th' auguſt tribunal of the ſkies, / VVhere no prevarication ſhall avail, / VVhere eloquence and artifice ſhall fail, […]

  2. Deviation from what is right or correct.

  3. A secret abuse in the exercise of a public office.

  4. ›+ 2 more definitions

    1. The collusion of an informer with the defendant, for the purpose of making a sham…

      The collusion of an informer with the defendant, for the purpose of making a sham prosecution.

    2. A false or deceitful seeming to undertake a thing for the purpose of defeating or…

      A false or deceitful seeming to undertake a thing for the purpose of defeating or destroying it.

      • If it shall appeare, that they haue forfeited their Faith, or wronged their Client by preuarication.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for prevarication. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA