| Main Entry: | abstain |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | hold back from doing |
Synonyms: |
abjure, abnegate, avoid, cease, constrain, curb, decline, deny oneself, do without, eschew, evade, fast, fence-sit, forbear, forgo, give the go by, give up, go on the wagon, keep from, pass, pass up, quit, refrain, refuse, renounce, shun, sit on one's hands, sit on the fence, sit out, spurn, starve, stop, take the cure, take the pledge, withhold |
Antonyms: |
indulge, use |
| Main Entry: | equivocate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | avoid an issue |
Synonyms: |
beat around the bush, beg the question, blow hot and cold, cavil, cloud the issue, con, cop a plea, cop out, cover up, dodge, double-talk, elude, escape, eschew, evade, falsify, fence, fib, flip-flop, fudge, give run around, hedge, hem and haw, jive, lie, mince words, palter, parry, pass the buck, prevaricate, pussyfoot, quibble, run around, shuck, shuffle, sidestep, sit on the fence, stonewall, tell white lie, tergiversate, tergiverse, waffle, weasel |
Antonyms: |
face, meet, speak on |
| Main Entry: | hedge |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | avoid, dodge |
Synonyms: |
be noncommittal, beat around the bush, blow hot and cold, cop a plea, cop out, duck, equivocate, evade, flip-flop, fudge, give the run around, hem and haw, jive, pass the buck, prevaricate, pussyfoot, quibble, run around, shilly-shally, shuck, shuffle, sidestep, sit on the fence, stall, stonewall, temporize, tergiversate, tergiverse, waffle |
Antonyms: |
confront, face, meet |
| Main Entry: | pussyfoot |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | be cautious |
Synonyms: |
avoid, be noncommittal, beat around the bush, creep, dodge, duck the issues, equivocate, evade, glide, hedge, hem and haw, lurk, play it close to the vest, prevaricate, prowl, shuffle, sidestep, sit on the fence, skirt, skulk, slide, slink, slip, sneak, steal, tergiversate, tergiverse, tiptoe, tread warily, watch one's step, weasel |
Antonyms: |
plod |