prevaricate

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
prevaricate /prɪˈvarɪkeɪt/

▶verb speak or act evasively.

– derivatives
prevarication noun,
prevaricator noun.

– origin C16 (earlier (ME) as prevarication and prevaricator), in the sense ‘go astray, transgress’: from L. praevaricat-, praevaricari ‘walk crookedly, deviate’.

usage: 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.