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e·vade

(ĭ-vād)

v. e·vad·ed, e·vad·ing, e·vades

v.tr.

1. To escape or avoid, especially by cleverness or deceit: managed to evade their pursuers; went underground in order to evade arrest.

a. To avoid complying with or fulfilling: evade the draft; evaded any legal responsibility.

b. To fail to make payment of (taxes).

3. To avoid giving a direct answer to: talked at length but evaded the interviewer's question.

4. To be beyond the memory or understanding of: The point of the article evades me.

v.intr.

1. To use cleverness or deceit in avoiding or escaping something.

2. To avoid complying with or fulfilling a requirement.

[French évader, from Latin ēvādere : ē-, ex-, ex- + vādere, to go.]

e·vada·ble, e·vadi·ble adj.

e·vader n.

Synonyms: evade, elude, avoid, eschew
These verbs mean to get or stay away from something or someone undesirable. Evade implies adroit maneuvering and sometimes suggests dishonesty or irresponsibility: tried to evade jury duty. To elude is to get away from artfully: eluded their pursuers. Avoid suggests a prudent or deliberate effort to stay away from what is unpleasant, harmful, or disadvantageous: took the back roads to avoid the heavy traffic; followed his doctor's advice to avoid strenuous exercise. Eschew is a formal equivalent of avoid: "Eschew evil, and do good" (King James Bible).

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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