prevaricate

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The Word of the Day for March 25 is:

prevaricate   \prih-VAIR-uh-kayt\   verb
     : to deviate from the truth : equivocate

Example sentence:
     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.





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