DODGE


Meaning of DODGE in English

I. ˈdäj verb

( -ed/-ing/-s )

Etymology: origin unknown

intransitive verb

1.

a. obsolete : to behave evasively in speech or action : haggle over terms : parley

b. : to evade responsibility or a duty especially by trickery or deceit

she dodged again, she lied again, and felt no guilt — Ethel Wilson

c. : to minimize a presentation (as of facts) : present something less harshly or forcefully than might be possible

he never dodges, never seeks refuge in platitudinous generalities — Saturday Review

d. : to move to and fro or from place to place usually in an irregular course

had to dodge backward and forward between London, Scotland, and Ireland — Times Literary Supplement

dodging in and out among the crowd

dodged in long zigzag leaps

often : to make a sudden movement in a new direction (as to evade a blow)

he dodged behind the door

2. : to step backward in striking order — used of a bell in change ringing

transitive verb

1. : to evade (as a responsibility) usually subtly and without positive repudiation

that's dodging the question

the fact that these deficiencies exist ought not to be dodged — Dexter Perkins

those young men who dodge the draft

2. : to evade by a sudden or by repeated shift of place or position

dodging a hail of bullets

: avoid an encounter with (as by suddenly turning aside)

she dodged him in the crowd

3. archaic : to follow (as a person) stealthily concealing oneself from view : dog

4. : to reduce the intensity of (a portion of a photograph) by selectively shading or selectively masking by chemical means during printing — compare burn in

Synonyms:

dodge , parry , sidestep , duck , shirk , fence , and malinger agree in meaning to avoid or evade by some maneuver or shift. dodge implies quickness of movement or a sudden shift of position especially in an unexpected direction (as in evading a blow or pursuit)

I looked up just in time to dodge a window frame falling from a fourth-story apartment — T.P.Whitney

the trouble has often been diagnosed, but it is always being dodged or minimized by the moralist — E.M.Forster

he hides in a dream world, dodging all responsibility — Ruth Blodgett

parry implies a warding off (as of a blow) as by turning the object aside, extending commonly to any adroitness in defending oneself

the Modoc bands parried thrust after thrust of the Federal troops — American Guide Series: Oregon

a new species of general, to parry a kind of enemy that was not described in the textbooks — Time

developing some adroitness in parrying awkward questions from the press — Edmond Taylor

sidestep implies a refusal to face by suddenly or ingeniously moving out of the way (as of something that threatens)

a man who sidesteps difficulties by quick thinking — Hazel Sullivan

Thomas sidestepped the snare which besets the prose playwright — Kenneth Tynan

he realized that every single speaker, with two courageous exceptions, had sidestepped the issue — H.A.Overstreet

duck , close to sidestep , implies avoidance or evasion by or as if by bobbing down the head or suddenly stooping out of the way, suggesting possibly more purposeful evasion than sidestep

the way for a reviewer to duck such a question — Newsweek

on the whole the major studios have ducked controversy, seldom fighting censorship — Saturday Night

certainly some ministers and teachers have ducked the facts of life — McGeorge Bundy

shirk implies evasion by means that suggest laziness, cowardice, or sneakiness

that is my duty and I shall not shirk it — H.S.Truman

a war which must be fought out and not shirked — Walter Moberly

the critic cannot forgo the attempt nor shirk the responsibility — C.I.Glicksberg

does not shirk the horrors of his scene — W.E.Allen

fence , usually figurative, in this context suggests any dexterous purposeful maneuver to avoid an issue or to ward something off (as embarrassing questions)

spent much time in fencing on the witness stand

it is rather odd that, after successfully fencing with the police, prosecutors, and other officials for weeks, she should have made a slip and mentioned Halloran's name — E.D.Radin

the president showed a new capability for fencing with the press — Time

malinger implies a shirking or delaying by pretense of illness, weakness, or incapacity

a malingering old colonel … pleading dysentery — Time

malingering was rare, however, if we adhere to the definition that it is an act or behavior in an otherwise normal individual for the purpose of evading military duty — W.C.Menninger

tried to escape it for more than ten juvenile years of my life, often successfully by playing truant day after day, or by malingering — F.N.Souza

II. noun

( -s )

1. : an act or means of evading

2.

a. : avoidance (as of contact) by sudden evasive bodily movement

he made a sudden dodge aside as the door swung to

b. : an artful device to evade, deceive, or trick : a crafty or subtle evasion

the suprising dodges used to escape taxation

just another dodge to get out of working

c. : an expedient or scheme

through the dodges and changes of Latin America's most dangerously significant revolution — Duncan Aikman

penny-pinching dodges

often : a method, technique, or way of life that tends to effect an end usually with notable or increased effectiveness

if you think the jingle dodge is easy — H.D.Quigg

got into the cowboy dodge because it looked more promising than cotton picking — Martin Levin

making use of a new market dodge to increase unit sales

3. : a backward step or one of a series of zigzags taken by a bell in change ringing

Synonyms: see trick

- on the dodge

III. transitive verb

or dodge the bullet

- dodge a bullet

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.