elude

Verb

Synonyms: evade bilk escape hedge fudge put off circumvent parry skirt dodge duck sidestep

WordNet 3.0

Verb (3)

escape, either physically or mentally“The thief eluded the police”“This difficult idea seems to evade her”“The event evades explanation”Synonyms: evade bilk
be incomprehensible to; escape understanding by“What you are seeing in him eludes me”Synonyms: escape
avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues)“He dodged the issue”“she skirted the problem”“They tend to evade their responsibilities”“he evaded the questions skillfully”Synonyms: hedge fudge evade put off circumvent parry skirt dodge duck sidestep

Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Elude \E*lude"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Eluded; p. pr. & vb. n. Eluding.] [L. eludere, elusum; e + ludere to play: cf. F. ['e]luder. See Ludicrous.] To avoid slyly, by artifice, stratagem, or dexterity; to escape from in a covert manner; to mock by an unexpected escape; to baffle; as, to elude an officer; to elude detection, inquiry, search, comprehension; to elude the force of an argument or a blow. [1913 Webster]

Me gentle Delia beckons from the plain, Then, hid in shades, eludes he eager swain. --Pope. [1913 Webster]

The transition from fetichism to polytheism seems a gradual process of which the stages elude close definition. --Tylor.

Syn: To evade; avoid; escape; shun; eschew; flee; mock; baffle; frustrate; foil. [1913 Webster]