Prevaricate   (pronounced prih-var-uh-kayt) verb


Definition

to deviate from or evade the truth; equivocate; lie.


Other Forms

Prevarication   (pronounced prih-var-uh-kay-shun) noun

Prevaricator   (pronounced prih-var-uh-kay-tur) noun

(Helpful tip: PREVARICATE is often used as a less blunt substitute for lie.)

Main Example

  • The New York Times, one of the world's most prestigious newspapers, has been rocked by revelations that dozens of news stories by one of its "rising stars," Jayson Blair, were filled with outright lies. The fact that Blair's fabrications, prevarications, and plagiarism were allowed to continue in spite of several warnings by lower level editors has acutely embarrassed the paper's top management.

    Workplace Examples

  • I am having one hell of a time trying to find out why marketing missed Wal-Mart's deadline for bids. You get one story from Hal, another version from Pat, and a third entirely different account from Janet. Looks like they are all prevaricating in order to save somebody's skin.

  • There is no need to prevaricate or hide the truth during your presentation. Everybody appreciates how much the odds were against us from the start. Tell them frankly that we could be as much as 50% below goal.

    Other Examples

  • your commenting: "I'm not at all surprised to learn that he is a prevaricator. He is so obsessed with his image and self-promotion!"

  • a witness, who had promised to tell all during the trial, prevaricating following a death threat

  • prevarication by top Enron executives during Wall Street meetings when analysts asked tough questions concerning the company's debt-financing entities and profit projections

  • a major reason why the World Health Organization couldn't quickly step in and arrest the SARS outbreak in Southeast Asia--the Chinese government's initial prevarications when WHO representatives tried to find out more about the then-mysterious illness

    © 2003 V.J. Singal

    This Month's Other Words

    Evanescent
    Arcane and Arcana
    Monolith
    Protestation
    Egomaniacal
    Penchant
    Intractable

    Now available on CD-ROM: Past editions of Words of the Month. Click here for more information.
    The Articulate Professional (1995 revised edition) also available. Click here for more information.

    Now get the CD-ROM and the book for only $27. Click here to order.
    *Price includes shipping in US/Canada.