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🕵️ A deceitful person 🦦 A small animal 🏃 To avoid responsibility
to weasel

to weasel

21 8.0
To avoid responsibility by acting in a sneaky or dishonest way
  • verb
  • /ˈwiːzəl/
  • Informal
translation icon : escaquearse
  • So you managed to weasel your way on the mission, after all.
  • weaseled her way
  • tried to weasel

Examples

  • Aye, he never tried to weasel out of a round.

    Boys from County Hell (2021)

  • Oh, it took six very expensive lawyers to weasel us out of it.

    The Shipping News (2001)

  • How did he weasel his way into this family?

    Little Women (1994)

  • You're not going to weasel out of it.

    Kiss Me, Stupid (1964)

  • He's trying to weasel out.

    One Eight Seven (1997)

  • I fully expect Romney to want to weasel his way over to the center after the election.

    Blog text (14)

  • It is just like you to try to weasel out of your responsibilities on Earth Day.

    Bio-Dome (1996)

  • One man I have avoided all over town ever since I weaseled out of a second date with him.

    Academic text (2007)

  • And he's trying to weasel out of it by saying his credit card statement isn't a receipt.

  • He tried to weasel out of the consequences after breaking the rules.

Synonyms

to dodge
vsto weasel
25 5.3

To avoid answering a question or facing responsibility by giving unclear answers

focuses more on general evasion than specifically sneaky dishonest escape
to weasel out
vsto weasel
  • Informal
10 8.2

To avoid doing something you should do by being dishonest or tricky

emphasizes sneaky escape from responsibility rather than merely failing to act
to wiggle out of
vsto weasel
  • Informal
2 7.0

Avoid a duty or problem by making excuses

leans more toward sneaky dishonest escape rather than clever excuses
to fudge one's way out
vsto weasel
  • Informal
9.1

To avoid taking responsibility by lying or being vague

is broader, covering any sneaky dishonest escape not only planned deceit

Antonyms

to take responsibility
193 3.3

To admit you caused a problem and accept the blame

Idioms

to be a weasel
  • Offensive
1 9.7

To avoid blame by lying or being tricky

Phrasal Verbs

to weasel out
  • Informal
10 8.2

To avoid doing something you should do by being dishonest or tricky

to weasel into
  • Informal
1 8.5

To get into a place or group by being sly

Compounds

weasel word
  • Literature
2 8.3

Words or phrases that avoid saying something clearly and often make people believe something untrue

longtail weasel
  • US
7.0

A small wild animal with a long body and a black-tipped tail that eats rats and mice

long-tailed weasel
  • US
6.9

A small wild animal with a long black-tipped tail that eats mice and rats

New World least weasel
  • US
9.3

A very small wild mammal in Canada and northeastern United States that turns white in winter

Old World least weasel
  • UK
9.2

A very small weasel from Europe and Asia with a long thin body and short legs

shorttail weasel
  • US
7.9

A small mammal that eats meat and turns white in winter

weasel war dance
  • Informal
9.9

A wild, excited dance that ferrets or weasels do when they are happy

How Evasive

to weasel
  • Informal
21 8.0
to evade
31 3.9
to dodge
25 5.3
to shirk
19 6.3
to avoid
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

weasel infinitive
weaseled past
weaseled past participle
weaseling present participle
weasels third person singular

Etymology

Weasel as a verb meaning 'to avoid' comes from the idea of the animal slipping out of a place through a small gap. So to weasel out of something is to escape responsibility in a quiet, sneaky way.