Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PRE-VAR-I-CA'TION, n.

1. A shuffling or quibbling to evade the truth or the disclosure of truth; the practice of some trick for evading what is just or honorable; a deviation from the plain path of truth and fair dealing. Addison.
2. In the civil law, the collusion of an informer with the defendant, for the purpose of making a sham prosecution. – Encyc.
3. In common law, a seeming to undertake a thing falsely or deceitfully, for the purpose of defeating or destroying it. – Cowel.
4. A secret abuse in the exercise of a public office or commission. – Encyc.