prevaricate
Pronunciation: /prɪˈvarɪkeɪt/
verb
Origin:
mid 16th century (earlier (Middle English) as prevarication and prevaricator), in the sense 'go astray, transgress': from Latin praevaricat- 'walked crookedly, deviated', from the verb praevaricari, from prae 'before' + varicari 'straddle'
The verbs prevaricate and procrastinate have similar but not identical meanings. Prevaricate means ‘act or speak in an evasive way’, as in he prevaricated at the mention of money. Procrastinate, on the other hand, means ‘put off doing something’, as in the Western powers will procrastinate until it is too late. The meanings are closely related—if someone prevaricates they often also procrastinate—and this can give rise to confusion in use.