prevaricate

• prævaricate (archaic)

From the participle stem of Latin praevāricārī (“to walk crookedly, to play a false or double part”), from prae- + vāricāre (“to stand with feet apart, straddle”), from vārus (“deviating from the right line, bent outwards, different”), from Proto-Indo-European *wā- (“to bend apart”) (the root of various).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /pɹɪˈvaɹɪkeɪt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /pɹɪˈvæɹɪkeɪt/, /pɹɪˈvɛɹɪkeɪt/

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prevaricate (third-person singular simple present prevaricates or (archaic) prevaricateth, present participle prevaricating, simple past and past participle prevaricated)

1. (transitive, intransitive, obsolete) To deviate, transgress; to go astray (from).
2. (intransitive) To shift or turn from direct speech or behaviour; to evade the truth; to waffle or be (intentionally) ambiguous.

   The people saw the politician prevaricate every day.

3. (intransitive, law) To collude, as where an informer colludes with the defendant, and makes a sham prosecution.
4. (law, Britain) To undertake something falsely and deceitfully, with the purpose of defeating or destroying it.

• prevaricatest
• prevarication
• prevaricator

• lie

prevaricate

1. second-person plural present indicative of prevaricare
2. second-person plural imperative of prevaricare
3. Feminine plural of prevaricato