prevarication

IPA/prɪˌværɪˈkeɪʃn/
KK[prəvˌɛrəkˈeʃən]IPA/prɪˌværɪˈkeɪʃn/

prevarication — 名詞

1. the act of answering questions in an unclear or dishonest way, so that people ca

1.名詞C1
釋義

規避

故意不正面回答的行為

the act of answering questions in an unclear or dishonest way, so that people cannot learn the full facts about something

例句

The minister's repeated prevarication during the press conference irritated the journalists.

部長在記者會上一再規避問題，令記者們感到不滿。

collocation: prevarication during [event]

After an hour of prevarication, Omar finally admitted he had forgotten to file the report.

經過一個小時的推託迴避後，Omar 終於承認他忘記提交報告。

同義詞
  • evasion

    less formal and more common; often implies avoiding a direct answer rather than lying outright

  • equivocation

    even more formal than prevarication; suggests deliberate use of vague or ambiguous language

  • deception

    broader in meaning; includes any act of making someone believe something that is not true, not just verbal evasion

反義詞
  • candour

    the quality of being open and honest in speech

  • frankness

    the quality of stating opinions and facts directly without evasion

  • truthfulness

    the quality of always telling the truth

文法句型

prevarication + about + noun phrase

accuse (someone) of prevarication

用法筆記

Common in formal or legal contexts. Frequently appears after verbs like 'accuse of', 'tired of', 'warned about'. Not used in everyday casual conversation.

常見錯誤

❌The child's prevarication was obvious when she said she didn't eat the cake with chocolate on her face.
✅The child's lie was obvious when she said she didn't eat the cake with chocolate on her face.
💡'Prevarication' is too formal for everyday situations involving children; use 'lie' instead.
❌He was prevarication about the deadline.
✅He was prevaricating about the deadline.
💡'Prevarication' is a noun; use the verb 'prevaricate' when you need a verb form.

2. a written or spoken statement that deliberately gives a false impression or avoi

2.名詞C2
釋義

託辭

不實的陳述或藉口

a written or spoken statement that deliberately gives a false impression or avoids giving a direct answer, rather than being simply untrue

例句

The company's annual report was full of prevarications designed to hide the losses.

該公司的年度報告充滿了刻意隱瞞虧損的託辭。

countable plural: prevarications

Sofia rejected the official explanation as a prevarication and demanded the truth.

Sofia 拒絕接受官方的說法，認為那只是託辭，要求知道真相。

同義詞
  • lie

    much more common and direct; a lie is known by the speaker to be false, while a prevarication may avoid the truth through vagueness

  • half-truth

    a statement that is partly true but deliberately misleads by omitting key information

  • evasive answer

    a response that avoids addressing the question directly; less formal than prevarication

反義詞

文法句型

a prevarication + about + noun phrase

full of prevarications

用法筆記

Unlike sense 1 (which describes the behaviour), this sense refers to an individual instance — one specific statement. Commonly appears in plural form 'prevarications' when listing multiple evasive statements.

常見錯誤

❌The weather forecast was a prevarication.
✅The weather forecast was wrong.
💡'Prevarication' implies deliberate deception, not a simple mistake.
❌His prevarication that he was born in 1985 is easy to check.
✅His false statement that he was born in 1985 is easy to check.
💡For a straightforward lie about a verifiable fact, 'false statement' or 'lie' is more natural.