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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

prevarication en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /pɹɪˌvæɹ.ɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/ non-merged vowel
  • prĭ-văr′ə-kā′shən merged vowel
  • (Southern-England) audio
  • prĭ-văr′ĭ-kā′shən non-merged vowel
  • /pɹɪˌvæɹ.əˈkeɪ.ʃən/ merged vowel

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”).

Meanings

  1. (countable, uncountable) Evasion of the truth.
    • 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, […] 1782, William Cowper, “Retirement”, in Poems, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], →OCLC, page 291:
    • The prevarication and white lies which a mind that keeps itself ambitiously pure is as uneasy under as a great artist under the false touches that no eye detects but his own, are worn as lightly as mere trimmings when once the actions have become a lie. 1861, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter XIII, in Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, part I, page 239:
    • Prevarication became the order of the day in his government while truth was a stranger in those halls.
    • Mr Rajoy frustrates many with his prevarication over a fresh euro-zone bail-out, which now comes with a conditional promise from the European Central Bank (ECB) to help bring down Spain’s stifling borrowing costs. 2012 October 6, “Charlemagne: Mysterious Mariano”, in The Economist:
  2. (archaic, countable, uncountable) Deviation from what is right or correct.
  3. (countable, uncountable) A secret abuse in the exercise of a public office.
  4. (Ancient-Rome, countable, historical, uncountable) The collusion of an informer with the defendant, for the purpose of making a sham prosecution.
  5. (countable, uncountable) 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. 1628, Robert Le Grys, Argenis, translation of original by John Barclay:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
prevarications Number=Plur lexicographic

Relateds

prevaricator · lie · equivocate · prevaricate

Synonyms

perversion · transgression · deceit · evasiveness

Translations (31)

fr échappatoire (deceit, evasiveness) · ca prevaricació (deceit, evasiveness) · pl matactwo (deceit, evasiveness) · es prevaricación (deceit, evasiveness) · ca prevaricació (deviation from what is right or correct) · pt prevaricação (deceit, evasiveness) · pt prevaricação (deviation from what is right or correct) · no utflukt (deceit, evasiveness) · fr prévarication (deviation from what is right or correct) · pl krętactwo (deceit, evasiveness) · fr subterfuge (deceit, evasiveness) · de Ausflucht (deceit, evasiveness) · pl wykręt (deviation from what is right or correct) · de Tatsachenverdrehung (deceit, evasiveness) · es prevaricación (deviation from what is right or correct) · nl draaierij (deceit, evasiveness) · bg извъртане (deceit, evasiveness) · de Übertretung (deviation from what is right or correct) · fr faux-fuyant (deceit, evasiveness) · nl overtreding (deviation from what is right or correct) · it prevaricazione (deviation from what is right or correct) · bg шикалкавене (deviation from what is right or correct) · nl uitvlucht (deceit, evasiveness) · fr dérobade (deceit, evasiveness) · de Verstoß (deviation from what is right or correct) · ota یالان (deceit, evasiveness) · it prevaricazione (deceit, evasiveness) · de Wahrheitsverzerrung (deceit, evasiveness) · de Verfehlung (deviation from what is right or correct) · pdt Jeheichel (deceit, evasiveness) · pl lawirowanie (deviation from what is right or correct)