| 释义 |
Definition of prevaricate in English: prevaricateverb prɪˈvarɪkeɪtprəˈvɛrəˌkeɪt [no object]Speak or act in an evasive way. 支吾，搪塞，推诿，含糊其辞 he seemed to prevaricate when journalists asked pointed questions 当记者问到一些尖锐问题时，他似乎在搪塞。 Example sentencesExamples - While they talk and prevaricate, foot and mouth could be back in the country tomorrow, and if that happens both farming and rural-based tourism in this country will take 50 years to recover.
- They simply must stop prevaricating and comply with the WTO ruling.
- It is extremely inappropriate for senior politicians to be prevaricating on the issue of corruption.
- Aside from our agent, I too was at a loss as to why we were still prevaricating over the deal.
- Why should we believe you when it is well known that all lawyers prevaricate?
- Instead, I'm prevaricating, dwelling on ‘stuff’, undoubtedly thinking too much, and generally needing motivation, probably in the form of a swift kick up the backside.
- I know I make it appear that I sit around all day wondering what my own skull looks like and prevaricating (and there is a fair amount of that, I have to say) but I do actually work quite hard.
- Ipso facto, if an intelligent person continues to allege them, he is prevaricating.
- Having been awarded the game they then spent almost three weeks prevaricating before eventually deciding to play the game early last week.
- Why should they waste the time of the court and disgrace themselves by prevaricating like pickpockets merely to employ the barristers?
- With reference to that last paragraph - am I prevaricating?
- As for the moral arguments, let's insist on a full and complete discussion of those too - without the usual shilly-shallying and prevaricating.
- They don't have the balls to admit that they were caught out, so they attack and lie and prevaricate and do everything to shuffle out from under it.
- There's no degree course in prevaricating, sadly, unless you count management science.
- Though anyone who knows me well also knows that if I were to begin prevaricating, I've a fiendish plan in reserve.
- That is they kept quibbling and prevaricating and showing stubbornness.
- Procrastinating and prevaricating in the matter would amount to sanctioning an open season on minorities.
- Not dissembling, not equivocating, not prevaricating, not misinforming, not distorting.
- You can't just sit about prevaricating forever.
- When he believed in something, he was incapable of dissembling or prevaricating.
Synonyms be evasive, be non-committal, be vague, be ambiguous, dodge the issue, evade the issue, beat about the bush, hedge, hedge one's bets, fudge the issue be evasive, beat about the bush, hedge, fence, shilly-shally, shuffle, dodge, dodge the issue, sidestep, sidestep the issue, pussyfoot, equivocate, be non-committal, parry questions, be vague, vacillate, quibble, cavil, lie
UsageThe verbs prevaricate and procrastinate have similar but not identical meanings. Prevaricate means ‘act or speak in an evasive way’, as in he prevaricated at the mention of money. Procrastinate, on the other hand, means ‘put off doing something’, as in the Western powers will procrastinate until it is too late. The meanings are closely related—if someone prevaricates they often also procrastinate—and this can give rise to confusion in use Derivativesnoun prɪvarɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)nprəˌvɛrəˈkeɪʃ(ə)n I met people who had endured 12 hours of mis-information and prevarication before they boarded a plane. Example sentencesExamples - Are bloviating prevarications the rule rather than the exception?
- Even so, he has continued his policy of deception and prevarication.
- Now we are fed big pills of outright lies, prevarication, and deception.
- We do not care about the silly prevarications of politicians, whether it be about the democratic system or weapons of mass destruction.
noun prɪˈvarɪkeɪtəprəˈvɛrəˌkeɪdər If everything doesn't change, I'm going to make it my personal mission to smoke out the guilty parties and expose them as prevaricators. Example sentencesExamples - The machine has no respect for doubters or prevaricators; it has no patience for those uncertain of their position.
- But the future of these two relatively junior prevaricators is not really the point.
- While a good examiner can spot at least some such countermeasures, the wily prevaricator can fool even the best, for mental countermeasures, especially, are difficult to detect.
- They are all castrated, effete prevaricators, and there isn't a real man among them to stand up and dare say the truth.
OriginMid 16th century (earlier (Middle English) as prevarication and prevaricator), in the sense 'go astray, transgress': from Latin praevaricat- 'walked crookedly, deviated', from the verb praevaricari, from prae 'before' + varicari 'straddle'. Definition of prevaricate in US English: prevaricateverbprəˈvɛrəˌkeɪtprəˈverəˌkāt [no object]Speak or act in an evasive way. 支吾，搪塞，推诿，含糊其辞 he seemed to prevaricate when journalists asked pointed questions 当记者问到一些尖锐问题时，他似乎在搪塞。 Example sentencesExamples - You can't just sit about prevaricating forever.
- I know I make it appear that I sit around all day wondering what my own skull looks like and prevaricating (and there is a fair amount of that, I have to say) but I do actually work quite hard.
- When he believed in something, he was incapable of dissembling or prevaricating.
- While they talk and prevaricate, foot and mouth could be back in the country tomorrow, and if that happens both farming and rural-based tourism in this country will take 50 years to recover.
- As for the moral arguments, let's insist on a full and complete discussion of those too - without the usual shilly-shallying and prevaricating.
- Instead, I'm prevaricating, dwelling on ‘stuff’, undoubtedly thinking too much, and generally needing motivation, probably in the form of a swift kick up the backside.
- Not dissembling, not equivocating, not prevaricating, not misinforming, not distorting.
- Procrastinating and prevaricating in the matter would amount to sanctioning an open season on minorities.
- That is they kept quibbling and prevaricating and showing stubbornness.
- With reference to that last paragraph - am I prevaricating?
- It is extremely inappropriate for senior politicians to be prevaricating on the issue of corruption.
- Why should we believe you when it is well known that all lawyers prevaricate?
- Ipso facto, if an intelligent person continues to allege them, he is prevaricating.
- Aside from our agent, I too was at a loss as to why we were still prevaricating over the deal.
- They simply must stop prevaricating and comply with the WTO ruling.
- Though anyone who knows me well also knows that if I were to begin prevaricating, I've a fiendish plan in reserve.
- They don't have the balls to admit that they were caught out, so they attack and lie and prevaricate and do everything to shuffle out from under it.
- Having been awarded the game they then spent almost three weeks prevaricating before eventually deciding to play the game early last week.
- There's no degree course in prevaricating, sadly, unless you count management science.
- Why should they waste the time of the court and disgrace themselves by prevaricating like pickpockets merely to employ the barristers?
Synonyms be evasive, be non-committal, be vague, be ambiguous, dodge the issue, evade the issue, beat about the bush, hedge, hedge one's bets, fudge the issue be evasive, beat about the bush, hedge, fence, shilly-shally, shuffle, dodge, dodge the issue, sidestep, sidestep the issue, pussyfoot, equivocate, be non-committal, parry questions, be vague, vacillate, quibble, cavil, lie
OriginMid 16th century (earlier ( Middle English) as prevarication and prevaricator), in the sense ‘go astray, transgress’: from Latin praevaricat- ‘walked crookedly, deviated’, from the verb praevaricari, from prae ‘before’ + varicari ‘straddle’. |