prevaricating
Speaking around facts
Prevaricating is speaking or acting evasively to avoid telling the whole truth.
Unlike outright lying, prevaricating involves hedging, equivocating, or being deliberately vague: When asked about his whereabouts, he started prevaricating.
Politicians are often accused of prevaricating when they give non-answers to direct questions.
Stating known falsehoods
- dissemblingConcealing true motives
- fabricatingManufacturing falsely
- falsifyingMaking intentionally untrue
- deceivingCausing false belief
misleading · dishonest · untruthful · disingenuous · insincere · duplicitous · deceitful · fibbing
Speaking with deliberate ambiguity
- hedgingNoncommittal maneuvering
- dodgingAvoiding by moving aside
- sidesteppingMoving aside to avoid
- fence-sittingRefusing to take sides
vacillating · waffling · dithering · stalling · pussyfooting · beating around the bush · hem and haw · shilly-shally
lying
Stating known falsehoods
- dissemblingConcealing true motives
- fabricatingManufacturing falsely
- falsifyingMaking intentionally untrue
deceiving · misleading · dishonest · untruthful · disingenuous · insincere · duplicitous · deceitful · fibbing · misrepresenting
equivocating
Speaking with deliberate ambiguity
- hedgingNoncommittal maneuvering
- dodgingAvoiding by moving aside
- sidesteppingMoving aside to avoid
fence-sitting · vacillating · waffling · dithering · stalling · pussyfooting · beating around the bush · hem and haw · shilly-shally · noncommittal
- deceptionlie, lies, lying, fake, fraud
- indecisionindecision, indecisiveness, conflicted, hesitation, indecisive
- stallingstall, stalling, delay, hesitate, procrastinate
prevaricatingtruthful
Accurate and sincere
honest · veracious · candid · sincere · truth-telling
prevaricatingforthright
Directly honest in manner
direct · straightforward · plain-spoken · confronting · blunt