- prevaricate, procrastinate
- Occasionally confused. Prevaricate means to speak or act evasively, to stray from the truth. Procrastinate means to put off doing.
Dictionary of troublesome word. Bill Bryson. 2013.
prevaricate, procrastinate
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prevaricate, procrastinate — Occasionally confused. Prevaricate means to speak or act evasively, to stray from the truth. Procrastinate means to put off doing … Dictionary of troublesome word
prevaricate — prevaricate, procrastinate Because their meanings, or at least the implications of their meanings, overlap, these two words are often confused. To prevaricate (derived from Latin praevaricari meaning literally ‘to walk crookedly’) is ‘to speak or … Modern English usage
procrastinate — prevaricate, procrastinate Because their meanings, or at least the implications of their meanings, overlap, these two words are often confused. To prevaricate (derived from Latin praevaricari meaning literally ‘to walk crookedly’) is ‘to speak or … Modern English usage
prevaricate — , procrastinate Occasionally confused. Prevaricate means to speak or act evasively, to stray from the truth. Procrastinate means to put off doing … Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors
procrastinate — , prevaricate The first means to postpone doing; the second means to be untruthful … Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors
prevaricate — [prɪ varɪkeɪt] verb speak or act evasively. Derivatives prevarication noun prevaricator noun Origin C16 (earlier (ME) as prevarication and prevaricator), in the sense go astray, transgress : from L. praevaricat , praevaricari walk crookedly,… … English new terms dictionary
procrastinate — [prə(ʊ) krastɪneɪt] verb delay or postpone action. Derivatives procrastination noun procrastinator noun procrastinatory adjective Origin C16: from L. procrastinat , procrastinare defer till the morning , from pro forward + crastinus belonging to… … English new terms dictionary
prevaricate — verb /prɪˈvaɹɪkeɪt,pɹɪˈvæɹɪkeɪt,pɹɪˈvɛɹɪkeɪt/ a) To shift or turn from direct speech or behaviour; to evade the truth; to waffle or be (intentionally) ambiguous. The people saw the politician prevaricate every day. b) To behave in an evasive way… … Wiktionary
prevaricate — v.intr. 1 speak or act evasively or misleadingly. 2 quibble, equivocate. Usage: Often confused with procrastinate. Derivatives: prevarication n. prevaricator n. Etymology: L praevaricari walk crookedly, practise collusion, in eccl.L transgress… … Useful english dictionary
procrastinate — v.intr. defer action; be dilatory. Usage: Often confused with prevaricate. Derivatives: procrastination n. procrastinative adj. procrastinator n. procrastinatory adj. Etymology: L procrastinare procrastinat (as PRO (1), crastinus of tomorrow f.… … Useful english dictionary
