evasion

/ɪˈveɪʒɪn/

/ɪˈveɪʒɪn/

Other forms: evasions

Evasion is the act of physically escaping from something, like your evasion of your ex-girlfriend at the prom — you kept dancing. Now that's fancy footwork.

Evasion also means "dodging something you are supposed to do" like your evasion of your chores by pretending to be sick. Evasion can also mean "the deliberate act of failing to pay money," like tax evasion, not paying your taxes. Though evasion comes from the Latin word evadere, "to escape," if you owe the government money, you'll surely be caught eventually.

Definitions of evasion

1. noun

   the act of physically escaping from something (an opponent or a pursuer or an unpleasant situation) by some adroit maneuver
   types:

   eluding, elusion, slip

   the act of avoiding capture (especially by cunning)

   evasive action, maneuver, manoeuvre

   an action aimed at evading an opponent

   dodge

   a quick evasive movement

   clinch

   (boxing) the act of one boxer holding onto the other to avoid being hit and to rest momentarily

   airplane maneuver, flight maneuver

   a maneuver executed by an aircraft

   straight-arm

   (American football) the act of warding off a tackler by holding the arm fully extended with the hand against the opponent

   type of:

   escape, flight

   the act of escaping physically
2. noun

   nonperformance of something distasteful (as by deceit or trickery) that you are supposed to do
   “his evasion of his clear duty was reprehensible”

   synonyms: dodging, escape

   types:

   escape mechanism

   a form of behavior that evades unpleasant realities

   malingering, skulking

   evading duty or work by pretending to be incapacitated

   goldbricking, goofing off, shirking, slacking, soldiering

   the evasion of work or duty

   circumvention

   the act of evading by going around

   type of:

   carelessness, neglect, negligence, nonperformance

   failure to act with the prudence that a reasonable person would exercise under the same circumstances
3. noun

   a statement that is not literally false but that cleverly avoids an unpleasant truth
   synonyms: equivocation

   types:

   circumlocution, indirect expression

   an indirect way of expressing something

   doublespeak

   any language that pretends to communicate but actually does not

   hedge, hedging

   an intentionally noncommittal or ambiguous statement

   cavil, quibble, quiddity

   an evasion of the point of an argument by raising irrelevant distinctions or objections

   type of:

   deceit, deception, misrepresentation

   a misleading falsehood
4. noun

   the deliberate act of failing to pay money
   “his evasion of all his creditors”

   synonyms: nonpayment

   types:

   tax evasion

   the deliberate failure to pay taxes (usually by making a false report)

   type of:

   commerce, commercialism, mercantilism

   transactions (sales and purchases) having the objective of supplying commodities (goods and services)