prevaricate
verb
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Prevaricate and its synonyms lie and equivocate all refer to playing fast and loose with the truth. Lie is the bluntest of the three. When you accuse someone of lying, you are saying that person was intentionally dishonest, no bones about it. Prevaricate is less accusatory and softens the bluntness of lie, usually implying that someone is evading the truth rather than purposely making false statements. Equivocate is similar to prevaricate, but it generally implies that someone is deliberately using words that have more than one meaning as a way to conceal the truth.
Examples of prevaricate in a Sentence
Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 15 Oct. 2024
The big question going into his face-off with Kamala Harris was which iteration of the perennially aggrieved, perpetually prevaricating ex-president would show up.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2024
Last year he was criticized across the Anglo and German press for prevaricating about the Ukraine war in its early months.
—Thomas Meaney, Harper's Magazine, 26 Apr. 2024
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These justices prevaricate pride about constitutional textualism and the context of history.
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 3 May 2024
Erdogan, expected to reciprocate for the PKK’s withdrawal by offering the Kurds additional rights and some measure of local rule, prevaricated for months, instead attending to the anti-government protests that swept through Turkey during the summer.
—Piotr Zalewski, Foreign Affairs, 20 Oct. 2013
Cooper’s script, co-written with Josh Singer (Spotlight, The Post, First Man, all wretched), prevaricates shamelessly through quasi–Harold Pinter style in which Bernstein and associates avoid directly addressing anything.
—Armond White, National Review, 22 Dec. 2023
These subpoenas and interview requests are yet further proof that this sham impeachment inquiry is driven only by the demands of the vengeful and prevaricating Donald Trump.
—Will Steakin, ABC News, 8 Nov. 2023
British politicians can say all sorts of rubbish to the BBC that wouldn’t count as a crime, but government ministers are not supposed to knowingly mislead — artfully prevaricate?
—Karla Adam, Washington Post, 21 Mar. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'prevaricate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Prevaricate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prevaricate. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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