From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishprevaricatepre‧var‧i‧cate /prɪˈværɪkeɪt/ verb [intransitive, transitive] formal AVOIDto try to hide the truth by not answering questions directly ‘I’m not sure, ’ he prevaricated. —prevarication /prɪˌværɪˈkeɪʃən/ noun [countable, uncountable]→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
prevaricate• Judge Greene said Tate was prevaricating to avoid having to testify against his ex-boss.• Without a text to assist them they may prevaricate too long before facing the brutal truth.Origin prevaricate (1500-1600) Latin past participle of praevaricari “to leave a straight course”, from varicari “to spread the legs apart” 