different between dissimulation vs prevarication

English

Etymology

From Old French dissimulation, from Latin dissimul?ti?.

Noun

dissimulation (countable and uncountable, plural dissimulations)

1. The act of concealing the truth; hypocrisy or deception.
2. Hiding one's feelings or intentions.

Related terms

Translations

French

Etymology

From Latin dissimul?ti?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /di.si.my.la.sj??/

Noun

dissimulation f (plural dissimulations)

1. dissimulation

Related terms

• dissimuler

Further reading

• “dissimulation” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

English

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman prevaricassion, Middle French prevarication, and their source, Latin praev?ric?ti? (“collusion with an opponent; transgression; deceit”), from the stem of praev?ricor.

Pronunciation

• (non-merged vowel) IPA^(key): /p???væ???ke???n/
• (merged vowel) IPA^(key): /p???væ???ke???n/
• Rhymes: -e???n

Noun

prevarication (countable and uncountable, plural prevarications)

1. (now rare) Deviation from what is right or correct; transgression, perversion.
2. Evasion of the truth; deceit, evasiveness.

   Prevarication became the order of the day in his government while truth was a stranger in those halls.

   • 1779, William Cowper, Retirement

     The august tribunal of the skies, where no prevarication shall avail.

   • 2012, The Economist, Oct 6th 2012, Charlemagne: Mysterious Mariano

     Mr Rajoy frustrates many with his prevarication over a fresh euro-zone bail-out, which now comes with a conditional promise from the European Central Bank (ECB) to help bring down Spain’s stifling borrowing costs.

3. A secret abuse in the exercise of a public office.
4. (law, historical, Ancient Rome) The collusion of an informer with the defendant, for the purpose of making a sham prosecution.
5. (law) A false or deceitful seeming to undertake a thing for the purpose of defeating or destroying it.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Cowell to this entry?)

Related terms

• prevaricate
• prevaricator

Translations

See also

• lie
• equivocate

Further reading

• Prevarication in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Middle French

Noun

prevarication f (plural prevarications)

1. prevarication (deviation from what is right)

Descendants

• ? English: prevarication
• French: prévarication