Pre-vări-ēāte1, v. i.
v. i. [imp. & p. p. PREVARICATED; p. pr. & vb. n. PREVARICATING.] [Lat. prævaricari, prævaricatus, to walk crookedly, to collude, from præ, before, and varicare, to straddle; It. prævaricare, Sp. prævaricar, Fr. prévariguer.]
Sense 1. To shift or turn from one side to the other, from the direct course, or from truth; to play foully; to evade telling the truth; to shuffle; to quibble.
Sense 2. (Civil Law.) To collude, as where an informer colludes with the defendant, and makes a sham prosecution.
Sense 3. (Eng. Law.) To undertake a thing falsely and deceitfully, with the purpose of defeating or destroying it. Cowell.
Synonyms—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 equivocates 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.
In this point charge him home, that he affects Tyrannic power; if he evade us there, Inforce him with his envy to the people. Shak.
But yet your false, equivocating tongue, Your looks, your eyes, your every motion promised. Smith.
For I desire to think better of him than that he would willfully prevaricate. Stillingfleet.