Standard Lemma guide

esquivalience

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˌɛs.kwɪˈveɪ.li.əns/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Deliberate shirking of one's official duties.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Made up as a copyright trap in the 2001 New Oxford American Dictionary, and said to be related to French esquiver (“evade, dodge, duck”). Began to see actual use by 2006, after having been identified as fictitious in 2005. The entry is still present in the dictionary's third edition (2010).