prevaricate
/pɹɪˈvaɹɪkeɪt/
"prevaricate" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“prevaricate” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To deviate, transgress; to go astray (from).
Corpus desk
Index EN-prevaricate · prevaricate · English
prevaricate · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 11 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "P" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | prevaricate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /pɹɪˈvaɹɪkeɪt/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “prevaricate” in English
Rare enough to double-check
prevaricate is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /pɹɪˈvaɹɪkeɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for prevaricate in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin praevāricātus, perfect active participle of praevāricor (“to walk crookedly; to play a false or double part”), from prae- + vāricō (“to stand with feet apart, straddle”), from vāricus (“with feet spread apart”); see -ate (verb-forming su… The correct English form is prevaricate, spelled P-R-E-V-A-R-I-C-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1To deviate, transgress; to go astray (from).
- 2To speak or act in a manner that is intentionally ambiguous or evasive; equivocate.
- 3To collude, as where an informer colludes with the defendant, and makes a sham prosecution.
- 4To undertake something falsely and deceitfully, with the purpose of defeating or destroying it.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how prevaricate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The people saw the politician prevaricate every day.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin praevāricātus, perfect active participle of praevāricor (“to walk crookedly; to play a false or double part”), from prae- + vāricō (“to stand with feet apart, straddle”), from vāricus (“with feet spread apart”); see -ate (verb-forming suffix).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.