prevaricate
Speak evasively, misleadingly
To prevaricate is to speak or act evasively, avoiding direct answers or commitment to the truth.
The word suggests deliberate vagueness rather than outright lying—dancing around a question, hedging, or giving misleading impressions without technically making false statements: When asked about his whereabouts, he prevaricated until his alibi fell apart.
The noun is prevarication.
Boundary of planted shrubs
- waffleGridded breakfast cake
- dodgeAvoid by quick movement
- sidestepEvade by moving aside
- fenceBoundary structure between properties
palter · beat around the bush · stall · parry · deflect · skirt · elude · circumvent
Deliberate falsehood
- misleadCause false belief
- dissembleConceal one's motives
- falsifyDistort the truth
- fabricateInvent or manufacture
misrepresent · distort · misinform · fib · bluff · hoodwink · dupe · delude
hedge
Boundary of planted shrubs
fence · palter · beat around the bush · stall · parry · deflect · skirt · elude · circumvent · avoid
lie
Deliberate falsehood
fabricate · misrepresent · distort · misinform · fib · bluff · hoodwink · dupe · delude · beguile
obfuscate
Make unclear intentionally
confuse · vague · murky · opaque · unclear · nebulous · befog · mystify · bewilder · perplex
dissimulate
Conceal true motives
- feignPretend to have
- pretendAct as though
- masqueradeDeceptive act or costume party
facade · guise · charade · sham · hypocrisy · deceit · simulate · pose · bluster · affectation
prevaricatetell the truth
Communicate facts honestly
be honest · speak plainly · level with · come clean · lay it on the line
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