evasion

[ ih-vey-zhuhn ]

noun

1. an act or instance of escaping, avoiding, or shirking something:

   evasion of one's duty.

   Synonyms: avoidance

2. the avoiding of an argument, accusation, question, or the like, as by a subterfuge:

   The old political boss was notorious for his practice of evasion.

   Synonyms: prevarication, quibbling, equivocation

3. a means of evading; subterfuge; an excuse or trick to avoid or get around something:

   Her polite agreement was an evasion concealing what she really felt.

4. physical or mental escape.
5. an act or instance of violating the tax laws by failing or refusing to pay all or part of one's taxes.

evasion

/ ɪˈveɪʒən /

noun

1. the act of evading or escaping, esp from a distasteful duty, responsibility, etc, by trickery, cunning, or illegal means

   tax evasion

2. trickery, cunning, or deception used to dodge a question, duty, etc; means of evading

Other Words From

• e·vasion·al adjective
• none·vasion noun
• pree·vasion noun
• ree·vasion noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of evasion¹

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin ēvāsiōn- (stem of ēvāsiō ), equivalent to ēvās ( us ) (past participle of ēvādere to go out; evade ) + -iōn- -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of evasion¹

C15: from Late Latin ēvāsiō, from Latin ēvādere to go forth; see evade

Related Words

• dodging