Evade

How to spell evade

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce evade

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does evade mean?

1. verbTo escape or avoid something by cleverness, trickery, or skill.

Evade in a sentence

• The suspect managed to evade the police for several months.

• Some firms use complex schemes to evade tax they legally owe.

Where does evade come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb evadere, which combined the prefix e- (a form of ex-, meaning 'out') with vadere, meaning 'to go' or 'to walk'. The literal sense was therefore 'to go out' or 'to get away', the idea of slipping out of a tight spot. English took the word in the sixteenth century, partly through French, and from the start it carried the notion of escaping by craft or cleverness rather than by force. The same Latin vadere lies behind 'invade' (to go in) and 'pervade' (to go through), so the family is held together by the idea of going. Knowing that the root is vad rather than 'vaid' helps fix the spelling: there is a single d and no hidden vowel before it.

How the word is built

• e- (from ex-: out)
• vad (from vadere: to go)
• -e