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Webster 1913 Edition
Prevaricate
Pre-var′i-cate
,Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Prevaricated
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Prevaricating
.] [L.
praevaricatus
, p. p. of praevaricari
to walk crookedly, to collude; prae
before + varicare
to straddle, fr. varicus
straddling, varus
bent. See Varicose
.] 1.
To shift or turn from one side to the other, from the direct course, or from truth; to speak with equivocation; to shuffle; to quibble;
as, he
. prevaricates
in his statementHe
prevaricates
with his own understanding. South.
2.
(Civil Law)
To collude, as where an informer colludes with the defendant, and makes a sham prosecution.
3.
(Eng. Law)
To undertake a thing falsely and deceitfully, with the purpose of defeating or destroying it.
Syn. – To evade; equivocate; quibble; shuffle.
–
Prevaricate
, Evade
, Equivocate
. One who evades a question ostensibly answers it, but really turns aside to some other point. He who equivocate uses words which have a double meaning, so that in one sense he can claim to have said the truth, though he does in fact deceive, and intends to do it. He who prevaricates talks all round the question, hoping to “dodge” it, and disclose nothing. Pre-var′i-cate
,Verb.
T.
To evade by a quibble; to transgress; to pervert.
[Obs.]
Jer. Taylor.
Webster 1828 Edition
Prevaricate
PREVAR'ICATE
,Verb.
I.
1.
To shuffle; to quibble; to shift or turn from one side to the other, from the direct course or from truth; to play foul play. I would think better of himself, than that he would wilfully prevaricate.
2.
In the civil law, to collude; as where an informer colludes with the defendant, and makes a sham prosecution.3.
In English law, to undertake a thing falsely and deceitfully, with the purpose of defeating or destroying it.PREVAR'ICATE
,Verb.
T.