Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definitions: Evasive |
EvasiveAdjective1. Deliberately vague or ambiguous; "his answers were brief, constrained and evasive"; "an evasive statement". 2. Avoiding or escaping from difficulty or danger especially enemy fire; "pilots are taught to take evasive action". 3. Skillful at eluding capture; "a cabal of conspirators, each more elusive than the archterrorist"- David Kline. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "evasive" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1777. (references) |
Synonym: EvasiveSynonym: elusive (adj). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Avoidance | Adjective: unsought, unattempted; avoiding; Verb: neutral, shy of; (unwilling); elusive, evasive; fugitive, runaway; shy, wild. |
Concealment | Obreptitious, furtive, stealthy, feline; skulking; Verb: surreptitious, underhand, hole and corner; sly; (cunning).; secretive, evasive; reserved, reticent, uncommunicative, buttoned up; close, close as wax; taciturn. |
Cunning | Adjective: cunning, crafty, artful; skillful; subtle, feline, vulpine; cunning as a fox, cunning as a serpent; deep, deep laid; profound; designing, contriving; intriguing;Verb: strategic, diplomatic, politic, Machiavelian, timeserving; artificial; tricky, tricksy; wily, sly, slim, insidious, stealthy; underhand; (hidden); subdolous; deceitful; slippery as an eel, evasive; crooked; arch, pawky, shrewd, acute; sharp, sharp as a tack, sharp as a needle; canny, astute, leery, knowing, up to snuff, too clever by half, not to be caught with chaff. |
Falsehood | Adjective: false, deceitful, mendacious, unveracious, fraudulent, dishonest, faithless, truthless, trothless; unfair, uncandid; hollow-hearted; evasive; uningenuous, disingenuous; hollow, sincere, Parthis mendacior; forsworn. |
Nonobservance | Adjective: violating; Verb: lawless, transgressive; elusive, evasive. |
Reasoning, | Deceptive, sophistical, jesuitical; illusive, illusory; specious, hollow, plausible, ad captandum, evasive; irrelevant. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Evasive |
| English words defined with "evasive": airplane maneuver ♦ corrupt, crafty, crooked, cunning ♦ devious, dodge, dodgy ♦ Elusory, evasive action, evasive answer, evasively ♦ flight maneuver, foxy ♦ guileful ♦ knavish ♦ Shiff, shifty, slick, Slipskin, sly ♦ tricksy, tricky ♦ waffler, wily. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "evasive": Wooden Wall. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "evasive": Slipskin. (references) |
| Domain | Title |
Books |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| "Evasive" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 99.38% of the time. "Evasive" is used about 162 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 99.38% | 161 | 24,661 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.62% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 162 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "evasive": be evasive ♦ evasive action ♦ evasive answer. Additional references. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
evasive action | 22 |
angel evasive | 7 |
evasive | 6 |
angle evasive | 5 |
action evasive maryann | 4 |
evasive driving | 3 |
cancer evasive | 2 |
driving evasive technique | 2 |
driving evasive school | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "evasive"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | i paqartë (abstract, dark, dim, doubtful, dubious, dusky, inarticulate, indefinite, indeterminate, indistinct, muddy, nebulous, obscure, out of focus, recondite, shadowy, uncertain, unclear, undistinguishable, undistinguished, unknowable, unreadable, vague), bishtnues (elusive, shirker, slacker). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | متملص (dodgy, elusive), متهرب (elusive, evader), مراوغ (deceitful, devious, dodgy, elusive, shifting, shifty, wily), غامض (abstruse, ambiguous, cloudy, deep, dim, double faced, dreamy, enigmatic, fuzzy, grave, hazy, impenetrable, incomprehensible, indecisive, indefinite, indeterminate, indistinct, indistinguishable, inscrutable, intangible, lax, magic, magical, misty, mysterious, mystic, nebulous, obscure, occult, opaque, puzzling, recondite, secret, shady, sketchy, slippery, sloppy, uncertain, unintelligible, vague, woolly), تملصى, تخصصى. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | уклончив (cagey, circumlocutional, lubricous, non committal, oblique), неуловим (elusive, impalpable, imperceptible, inappreciable, intangible, tenuous, volatile), мимолетен (evanescent, fugacious, passing, short lived, swift, transient, vaporous). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 不可捉摸. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | vyhýbavý (elusive, non committal, noncommittal). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Danish | vige (to sheer, to take evasive action), undvigelsesreaktion (evasive reaction), svajning (evasive action, swinging, weathervaning), svaje (to take evasive action). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | evasief pathogeen (evasive pathogen), zwaaien (brandish, dangle, fling, lagging, leading, sway, swing, swinging, to take evasive action, wave, wave about), opdraaien (to take evasive action), ontwijkende hoek (evasive angle), het zwaaien (evasive action), het opdraaien (evasive action). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Farsi | فرار (Breakaway, Desertion, Escape, Guy, Lam, Scape), گریزان (Elusive, Runaway), طفره زن (Elusive). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | kartteleva. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | évasif. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | ausweichend (cagey, dodging, eluding, elusive, elusively, evading, evasively, flinchingly, quibbling, shiftily, shifty, shunning, swerving). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | προφασιστικόσ, αμφίλογοσ (ambiguous, equivocal). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | מתעלם (elusive, oblivious, unconcerned), מתחמק (dodger, elusive, shirker), חמק י (elusive), חומק י (furtive). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | kitérõ (bypass, elusory), kerülõ (roundabout). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indonesian | mengelak-elak, bersifat mengelak. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | evasivo (eluding, elusory, non committal). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 逃避的 . (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | とうひてき. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manx | shaghnagh (avoidable, circumventory, elusive, passing, preventable). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Norwegian | unnvikende (elusive). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | evasiveay subterfúgio (dodgery, feint, mask, quibble, refuge, salvo, shuffle, subterfuge, trick, trickery). (various references) evaziv (cagily, circumlocutory, elusive, elusory, evasively), vag (dim, distant, dull, dusty, evasively, faint, general, hazy, indefinable, indefinite, indeterminate, indistinct, lax, loose, loosely, misty, muddy, nebulous, remote, shadowy, sketchy, slight, vague, washy). (various references) уклончивый (circumlocutional, elusive, non committal, noncommittal, tortuous). (various references) koji vrda (wriggly), dvosmislen (ambiguous, double edged, double meaning, double-barrelled, equivocal, indeterminate). (various references) evasivo (elusive, non committal, noncommittal, shuffling). (various references) undvikande (avoidance, avoiding, elusive, evasion, evation, oblique), undanglidande (elusive, mealy mouthed, mealy-mouthed), svårfångad (elusive), kringgående (circuitous), hal (draught, hayl, oily, slick, slippery, slithery, smooth). (various references) ซึ่งตอบไม่ตรงประเ"็น, ซึ่งหลีกหนีปัญหา. (various references) kaçamaklı (elusive, elusory, furtively, shuffling), kaçamak yapmaya meyilli, kaçamak (casual, casually, escapade, evasion, furtive, hanky panky, loophole, run, running, salvo, shift, stealthy, subterfuge, surreptitious), baştan savma (patchily, patchy, perfunctory, run around, salvo, sketchy, slapdash, slipshod, slovenly). (various references) ухильний (elusive, indirect, non committal, tortuous), уникливий, невловимий (eely, elusive, impalpable, intangible). (various references) thoái thác hay lảng tránh, lẩn tránh, lảng tránh, hay lẩn tránh. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "evasive": evasively, evasiveness, evasivenesses. (additional references) | |
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"Evasive" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: avasive, Eadsige, envasive, evaire, Evalie, evasice, evasivee, Heavside. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "evasive" (pronounced ivā"siv, ivā"ziv, ēvā"siv , or ēvā"ziv) |
| 5 | -v ā" s i v | invasive, pervasive. |
| 4 | -ā" s i v | abrasive, persuasive. |
| 3 | -s i v | abusive, adhesive, aggressive, allusive, apprehensive, aversive, coercive, cohesive, collusive, comprehensive, compulsive, conclusive, conducive, convulsive, corrosive, counteroffensive, decisive, defensive, depressive, derisive, discursive, dismissive, dispersive, divisive, effusive, elusive, erosive, excessive, exclusive, expansive, expensive, explosive, expressive, extensive, hypertensive, illusive, impassive, impressive, impulsive, incisive, inclusive, inconclusive, indecisive, inexpensive, inoffensive, intrusive, massive, missive, nonexclusive, nonresponsive, obsessive, obtrusive, offensive, oppressive, passive, pensive, permissive, possessive, progressive, recessive, reclusive, reflexive, regressive, repressive, repulsive, responsive, submissive, subversive, successive, unimpressive, unobtrusive, unresponsive. |
| 5 | -v ā" s i v | invasive, pervasive. |
| 4 | -ā" s i v | abrasive, persuasive. |
| 3 | -s i v | abusive, adhesive, aggressive, allusive, apprehensive, aversive, coercive, cohesive, collusive, comprehensive, compulsive, conclusive, conducive, convulsive, corrosive, counteroffensive, decisive, defensive, depressive, derisive, discursive, dismissive, dispersive, divisive, effusive, elusive, erosive, excessive, exclusive, expansive, expensive, explosive, expressive, extensive, hypertensive, illusive, impassive, impressive, impulsive, incisive, inclusive, inconclusive, indecisive, inexpensive, inoffensive, intrusive, massive, missive, nonexclusive, nonresponsive, obsessive, obtrusive, offensive, oppressive, passive, pensive, permissive, possessive, progressive, recessive, reclusive, reflexive, regressive, repressive, repulsive, responsive, submissive, subversive, successive, unimpressive, unobtrusive, unresponsive. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-e-e-i-s-v-v" | |
-2 letters: eaves, sieve, vivas. | |
-3 letters: aves, ease, eave, eves, save, vase, vavs, vees, vies, visa, vise, viva, vive. | |
-4 letters: ais, ave, eve, sae, sea, see, sei, vas, vav, vee, via, vie, vis. | |
-5 letters: ae, ai, as, es, is, si. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-e-e-i-s-v-v" | |
+1 letter: aversive. | |
+2 letters: evasively, pervasive. | |
+3 letters: adventives, aversively. | |
+4 letters: adversative, derivatives, devastative, evasiveness, pervasively, vaudevilles, vesuvianite, vivandieres. | |
+5 letters: adversatives, asseverative, aversiveness, conservative, deverbatives, invasiveness, overachieves, preservative, vesuvianites. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)45 76 61 73 69 76 65 |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
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| American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)
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| Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)
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| Braille (1829, in France) (references)
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Morse Code (1836) (references). ...- .- ... .. ...- . |
| Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)
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Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01000101 01110110 01100001 01110011 01101001 01110110 01100101 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)E v a s i v e |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)0045 0076 0061 0073 0069 0076 0065 |
| British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)
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Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)39886785758871 |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Usage Frequency 6. Expressions 7. Expressions: Internet 8. Translations: Modern | 9. Derivations 10. Rhymes 11. Anagrams 12. Orthography | 13. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
