Evasive
/ɪˈveɪ.sɪv/noun
Avoiding direct answers, confrontation, responsibility, or capture.
Did you know?Its Latin ancestor, evadere, was used for physically escaping danger and later for eluding an argument, a responsibility, or the truth itself.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*weh₂dʰ-
“To go, proceed, or move forward”
Classical Latin
Latin
vadere
“To go, walk, or advance”
Classical Latin
Latin
ēvādere
“To go out, escape, or elude; ē- means “out” and vadere means “go””
Late Latin
Latin
ēvāsīvus
“Inclined to escape or elude”
16th Century
French
évasif
“Avoiding a direct answer or response”
16th Century
English
evasive
“Avoiding direct engagement or giving a straightforward answer”