Roget's Thesaurus: Entry 623 ()

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#623. .[Absence of pursuit.] Avoidance. -- N. abstention, abstinence; for bearance[obs]; refraining &c. v.; inaction &c. 681; neutrality.

avoidance, evasion, elusion; seclusion &c. 893.

avolation|, flight; escape &c. 671; retreat &c. 287; recoil &c. 277; departure &c. 293; rejection &c. 610.

shirker &c. v.; truant; fugitive, refugee; runaway, runagate; maroon.

V. abstain, refrain, spare, not attempt; not do &c. 681; maintain the even tenor of one's way.

eschew, keep from, let alone, have nothing to do with; keep aloof keep off, stand aloof, stand off, hold aloof, hold off; take no part in, have no hand in.

avoid, shun; steer clear of, keep clear of; fight shy of; keep one's distance, keep at a respectful distance; keep out of the way, get out of the way; evade, elude, turn away from; set one's face against &c. (oppose) 708; deny oneself.

shrink back; hang back, hold back, draw back; recoil &c. 277; retire &c. (recede) 287; flinch, blink, blench, shy, shirk, dodge, parry, make way for, give place to.

beat a retreat; turn tail, turn one's back; take to one's heels; runaway, run for one's life; cut and run; be off like a shot; fly, flee; fly away, flee away, run away from; take flight, take to flight; desert, elope; make off, scamper off, sneak off, shuffle off, sheer off; break away, tear oneself away, slip away, slink away, steel away, make away from, scamper away from, sneak away from, shuffle away from, sheer away from; slip cable, part company, turn one's heel; sneak out of, play truant, give one the go by, give leg bail, take French leave, slope, decamp, flit, bolt, abscond, levant, skedaddle, absquatulate [obs][U.S.], cut one's stick, walk one's chalks, show a light pair of heels, make oneself scarce; escape &c. 671; go away &c. (depart) 293; abandon &c. 624; reject &c. 610.

lead one a dance, lead one a pretty dance; throw off the scent, play at hide and seek.

Adj. unsought, unattempted; avoiding &c. v.; neutral, shy of &c. (unwilling) 603; elusive, evasive; fugitive, runaway; shy, wild.

Adj. lest, in order to avoid.

Int. forbear! keep off, hands off! sauve qui peut[Fr]! [French: every man for himself]; devil take the hindmost!

Phr. "things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme" [Paradise Lost].