\Pre*var"i*cate\, v. i. [imp. & p. p.
{Prevaricated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Prevaricating}.] [L.
praevaricatus, p. p. of praevaricari to walk crookedly, to
collude; prae before + varicare to straddle, fr. varicus
straddling, varus bent. See {Varicose}.]
1. To shift or turn from one side to the other, from the
   direct course, or from truth; to speak with equivocation;
   to shuffle; to quibble; as, he prevaricates in his
   statement.
         He prevaricates with his own understanding. --South.
2. (Civil Law) To collude, as where an informer colludes with
   the defendant, and makes a sham prosecution.
3. (Eng. Law) To undertake a thing falsely and deceitfully,
   with the purpose of defeating or destroying it.
Syn: To evade; equivocate; quibble; shuffle.
Usage: {Prevaricate}, {Evade}, {Equivocate}. One who evades a
       question ostensibly answers it, but really turns aside
       to some other point. He who equivocate uses words
       which have a double meaning, so that in one sense he
       can claim to have said the truth, though he does in
       fact deceive, and intends to do it. He who
       prevaricates talks all round the question, hoping to
       ``dodge'' it, and disclose nothing.

\Pre*var"i*cate\, v. t.
To evade by a quibble; to transgress; to pervert. [Obs.]
--Jer. Taylor.