Wordsmith.org: the magic of words


A.Word.A.Day

 About | Media | Search | Contact  


Home

Today's Word

Yesterday's Word

Archives

FAQ
Feb 10, 2010
This week's theme
Verbs

This week's words
castigate
disport
prevaricate
affranchise
obnubilate
The Anagram Times
Read it today
Discuss
Feedback
RSS/XML
Bookmark and Share Facebook Twitter Digg MySpace Bookmark and Share
A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

prevaricate

PRONUNCIATION:
(pri-VAR-i-kayt)

MEANING:
verb intr.: To avoid telling the truth by being ambiguous, evading, or misleading.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin praevaricari (to straddle, to collude), from varicare (to straddle), from varus (knock-kneed, bent outwards). To prevaricate is to straddle the boundary between truth and falsehood.

USAGE:
"Our presidents and their advisors, from Kennedy to Nixon and Ford, prevaricated, invented and outright lied for years about the course and casualties of the war."
Clancy Sigal; Caught in a Fantasy Amid Subterfuge; Los Angeles Times; Jun 29, 2001.

See more usage examples of prevaricate in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Philosophers / must ultimately find / their true perfection / in knowing all / the follies of mankind / - by introspection. -Piet Hein, poet and scientist (1905-1996)

We need your help

Help us continue to spread the magic of words to readers everywhere

Donate

Subscriber Services
Awards | Stats | Links | Privacy Policy
Contribute | Advertise

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith