- dodge
- dodge vb Dodge, parry, sidestep, duck, shirk, fence, malinger are comparable when meaning to avoid or evade by some maneuver or shift.Dodge implies quickness of movement or a sudden evasive shift of position (as in avoiding a blow or pursuit){
they ran to the Abbey, dodged the Baronet, armed themselves— Meredith
}{he was able to dodge so that the man's knife went through his sleeve, wounding him only slightly— Heiser
}It may imply artfulness, or craft, or clever deceit in evading not only the attack of an enemy but similarly the thrusts of a debater, or an examiner, or the demands of an authoritative power{some dodging casuist with more craft than sincerity— Milton
}{the trouble ... is always being dodged or minimized by the moralist— Forster
}{dodged the issue again and again
}Parry does not imply dodging so much as warding off a blow and turning aside the weapon; it suggests skill and adroitness in defending oneself not only from blows with a weapon but from whatever threatens or proves awkward (as a question or demand){parry an argument by shifting the ground
}{parry a demand for the payment of a claim by making a counterclaim
}{I parried her questions by the best excuses I could offer— Wilkie Collins
}Sidestep comes very close to dodge in its suggestion of a quick maneuver to evade a blow or the facing of an issue; it usually sug-gests dexterous action in avoiding something imminent but often, on the other hand, suggests not ultimate avoidance but temporary delay or postponement{the boxer neatly sidestepped the blow
}{sidestep the decision of a matter
}{he can no longer sidestep the issue
}Duck implies evasion or avoidance by or as if by a sudden bending or stooping{he never once ducked at the whiz of a cannonball— Pope
}{some ministers and teachers have ducked the facts of life— Bundy
}{the way for a reviewer to duck such a question— Newsweek
}Shirk implies evasion or avoidance by means that suggest meanness, cowardice, laziness, or sneakiness{shirked his duty to his family
}{shirk a difficult or dangerous task
}{that is my duty and I shall not shirk it—Truman
}{a war which must be fought out and not shirked— Moberly
}{he had . . . shirked telling her that no marriage would occur that day— Bennett
}Fence suggests a maneuver comparable to one used in fencing; it may connote parrying, or thrusting, or guarding, but it typically implies more dexterity or more boldness in baffling inquiry than skill in warding off what is awkward{fence skillfully on the witness stand
}{the president showed a new capability for fencing with the press— Time
}Malinger implies, usually, a shirking (as of one's duties or a hard task) through feigning illness or weakness{some were half inclined to suspect that he was, to use a military phrase, malingering— Macaulay
}{the question whether hysteria is an unintentional device or whether it represents a process of malingering— Bag by
}Antonyms: faceContrasted words: brave, dare, defy, beard, challenge (see FACE)
New Dictionary of Synonyms. 2014.
