Word · Frequency #22985
prevaricating
支吾；搪塞；含糊其辞
prevaricating is the present participle of prevaricate.
to speak or act evasively, especially to avoid telling the truth or to withhold information
- 1.
To speak or act in a manner that is intentionally ambiguous or evasive; equivocate.
故意含糊其辞或回避；搪塞。
- 2.
To collude, as where an informer colludes with the defendant, and makes a sham prosecution.
串通,如告密者与被告串通进行虚假起诉。
故意含糊其辞或回避；搪塞。；串通,如告密者与被告串通进行虚假起诉。；支吾其辞；搪塞
In use
When my son asked why he was late, he started to prevaricate instead of telling the truth.
She prevaricated for several minutes, but finally admitted she had forgotten the appointment.
Stop prevaricating and tell me exactly what happened yesterday.
prevaricate about [noun]
prevaricate 是不及物动词，后接话题时常用介词 about 或 over。
The politician prevaricated about the details of the deal.
那位政客对这笔交易的细节支吾其辞。
prevaricate when [clause]
该结构描述在某疑问或压力情境下回避正面回答。
She prevaricated when reporters asked about her plans.
记者问起她的计划时，她含糊其辞。
stop prevaricating and [do sth]
Connections
Collocations
- prevaricate about something
- 对某事支吾搪塞
- He prevaricated about his plans for the weekend.他对自己周末的计划支吾搪塞。
- prevaricate under questioning
- 在询问下含糊其辞
- The witness began to prevaricate under questioning.证人在询问下开始含糊其辞。
- stop prevaricating
- 别再搪塞
- Stop prevaricating and tell me the truth.别再搪塞了，告诉我真相。
- refuse to prevaricate
- 拒绝搪塞
- She refused to prevaricate and gave a straight answer.她拒绝搪塞，给出了直接回答。
- prevaricate rather than admit something
- 支吾搪塞而不愿承认某事
- He prevaricated rather than admit his mistake.他支吾搪塞，不愿承认自己的错误。
Learner notes
Memory Tip
记 prevaricate：前半 pre 像‘预先’，中间 var 像 vary（变化）——预先变着说法绕弯子，就是支吾搪塞。
Context & Register
语域：formal 常见场景：正式辩论、法律质询、新闻报道 prevaricate 是比较正式的用词，多用于书面语或正式场合，表示故意含糊其辞或回避真相。日常口语中较少使用，比较常见于政治、法律等严肃语境。
Pronunciation & Spelling
这些词都以 -icate 结尾，但重音不同，因此与 prevaricate /priˈværɪkeɪt/ 不押韵。其中 indicate、implicate、predicate、communicate 虽以 /keɪt/ 结尾，但重音在第一个或第二个音节的前部，和 prevaricate 的 /værɪkeɪt/ 不同；delicate 和 intricate 末尾读 /ət/，是典型的形近音异词。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.