PREVARICATION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does prevarication mean? 

• PREVARICATION (noun)
  The noun PREVARICATION has 3 senses:

1. a statement that deviates from or perverts the truth

2. intentionally vague or ambiguous

3. the deliberate act of deviating from the truth

  Familiarity information: PREVARICATION used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PREVARICATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A statement that deviates from or perverts the truth

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

lie; prevarication

Hypernyms ("prevarication" is a kind of...):

falsehood; falsity; untruth (a false statement)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "prevarication"):

fib; story; tale; taradiddle; tarradiddle (a trivial lie)

jactitation ((law) a false boast that can harm others; especially a false claim to be married to someone (formerly actionable at law))

walloper; whopper (a gross untruth; a blatant lie)

white lie (an unimportant lie (especially one told to be tactful or polite))

Derivation:

prevaricate (be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Intentionally vague or ambiguous

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

equivocation; evasiveness; prevarication

Hypernyms ("prevarication" is a kind of...):

ambiguity; equivocalness (unclearness by virtue of having more than one meaning)

untruthfulness (the quality of being untruthful)

Derivation:

prevaricate (be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The deliberate act of deviating from the truth

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

fabrication; lying; prevarication

Hypernyms ("prevarication" is a kind of...):

falsification; misrepresentation (a willful perversion of facts)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "prevarication"):

fibbing; paltering (a trivial act of lying or being deliberately unclear)

Derivation:

prevaricate (be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information)