Prevaricated

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Prevaricate \Pre*var"i*cate\, v. 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
        statement.
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              He prevaricates with his own understanding. --South.
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     2. (Civil Law) To collude, as where an informer colludes with
        the defendant, and makes a sham prosecution.
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     3. (Eng. Law) To undertake a thing falsely and deceitfully,
        with the purpose of defeating or destroying it.
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     Syn: To evade; equivocate; quibble; shuffle.
  
     Usage: {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.
            [1913 Webster]