evasive
adjective /ɪˈveɪ.sɪv/Definition
› answering questions in a way that is not direct or clear, especially because you do not want to give an honest answer: The Minister was her usual evasive self, skilfully dodging reporters' questions about her possible resignation.Digressing and being indirect or evasiveMoving in order to avoid contactNot saying much › done to avoid something bad happening: By the time the pilot realized how close the plane was to the building, it was too late to take evasive action. Drivers had to make sudden evasive manoeuvres.Moving in order to avoid contactDigressing and being indirect or evasive evasively /-li/ adverb Moving in order to avoid contactDigressing and being indirect or evasiveDigressing and being indirect or evasiveMoving in order to avoid contactNot saying much evasiveness /-nəs/ noun [U] Moving in order to avoid contactDigressing and being indirect or evasiveDigressing and being indirect or evasiveMoving in order to avoid contactNot saying much
(Definition of evasive adjective from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus
© Cambridge University Press)
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- Advancing and moving forward
- Arrivals and departures
- Arriving, entering and invading
- Backwards, sideways and back and forth
- Bending, twisting and curving
- Boarding and alighting from modes of transport
- Bouncing
- Changing direction
- Crossing and moving through
- Delivering and despatching
- Departing
- Describing movement towards
- Digging
- Direction of motion
- Down and downward
- Emitting and ejecting
- Evicting and forcing to leave
- Falling and dropping
- Fast and rapid
- General words for movement
- Immobility
- Increasing and decreasing speed of motion
- Inserting and forcing things into other things
- Jumping
- Making short, sudden movements
- Messengers and people who deliver things
- Movement
- Movement of liquids
- Movement on or through water
- Movement through the air
- Moving a long way on foot
- Moving downwards
- Moving firmly on foot
- Moving gently on foot
- Moving on your hands and legs or on your stomach
- Moving quickly
- Moving to avoid being seen
- Moving unsteadily or with difficulty
- Moving upwards
- Not holding the body upright
- Phrases telling people to go away
- Physical gestures of respect
- Places and locations
- Placing and positioning an object
- Pleasant and make-believe places
- Posture
- Pulling
- Pursuing
- Pushing and shoving
- Raising and lowering
- Reclining
- Removing and extracting
- Returning to a place
- Revolving, rotating and spinning
- Runaways and refugees
- Running away and escaping
- Shaking, swinging and vibrating
- Sitting and standing
- Slow and moving slowly
- Speed of motion
- Staying and remaining
- Stretching the body
- Taking someone somewhere or telling them the way
- Throwing
- Transferring and transporting objects
- Turning upside down
- Unpleasant places
- Up and upward
- Visiting
- Walking and walkers
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