'Evasiveness' definitions:
Definition of 'evasiveness'
(from WordNet)
noun
Intentionally vague or ambiguous [syn: equivocation, prevarication, evasiveness]
Definition of 'Evasiveness'
From: GCIDE
- evasive \e*va"sive\ ([-e]*v[=a]"s[i^]v), a. [Cf. F. ['e]vasif. See Evade.] Tending to evade, or marked by evasion; elusive; shuffling; avoiding by artifice. [1913 Webster]
- Thus he, though conscious of the ethereal guest, Answered evasive of the sly request. --Pope. [1913 Webster]
- Stammered out a few evasive phrases. --Macaulay. -- {E*va"sive*ly}, adv. -- {E*va"sive*ness}, n. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'evasiveness'
From: GCIDE
- evasiveness \e*va"siv*eness\ ([-e]*v[=a]"s[i^]v*n[e^]s), n. Deliberate vagueness or ambiguity; failing to answer a question while trying to seem as though one is answering.
- Syn: equivocation. [WordNet 1.5]