Evasiveness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality of avoiding giving clear or direct answers, especially to evade commitment or responsibility
2. A characteristic of not being straightforward in speech or action to avoid revealing information or making decisions
3. The habit of escaping explicit statements or definite positions to prevent being pinned down or confronted

Etymology: Evasiveness is a plain formation: the adjective "evasive" with the suffix "-ness," which turns an adjective into a noun naming a quality. The suffix itself is very old. It descends from a Proto-Germanic form "-assuzi" and Old English "-nes," and it has been a productive way of forming abstract nouns in English ever since. Most adjectives ending in "-ive" that describe a quality, such as "sensitiveness" or "passiveness," have accepted the same ending, so this word follows an ordinary pattern rather than a special history. The root, "evasive," comes from the verb "evade," which English borrowed from Latin "evadere," meaning "to escape" or "to get out." The adjective "evasive" developed from it, and its core sense is still that of slipping away from something. Because a person who slips away from a question seldom answers it, the adjective came to describe speech and manner that avoid the point, and "evasiveness" names that quality of avoidance.

Synonyms: elusiveness, ambiguity, indirectness, dodge, prevarication

Antonyms: openness, directness, clarity, frankness, honesty