prevaricate

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 25, 2007 is: prevaricate • \prih-VAIR-uh-kayt\  • verb : to deviate from the truth : equivocate Examples: In Henry Fielding's novel Tom Jones, Squire Allworthy demands, "Look you, Mr. Dowling..., do not hesitate nor prevaricate; but answer faithfully and truly to every question I ask." Did you know? "Prevaricate" and its synonyms "lie" and "equivocate" all refer to playing fast and loose with the truth. "Lie" is the bluntest of the three. When you accuse someone of lying, you are saying he or she was intentionally dishonest, no bones about it. "Prevaricate" is less accusatory and softens the bluntness of "lie," usually implying that someone is evading the truth rather than purposely making false statements. "Equivocate" is similar to "prevaricate," but it generally implies that someone is deliberately using words that have more than one meaning as a way to conceal the truth. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.