言いい紛まぎらす

い

ま

ぎ

ら

す

Meanings

1

godan verb (-su), transitive verb

equivocate; talk around; cover up with words

Used when someone avoids giving a clear answer or deliberately obscures the truth by talking in a confusing or evasive way.

彼かれは都つ合ごうが悪わるくなると、いつも言こと葉ばを言いい紛まぎらす。
Whenever things get awkward, he always talks his way around it.

質しつ問もんに直ちょく接せつ答こたえず、言いい紛まぎらしてばかりいる。

He never answers questions directly, just keeps equivocating.

Written forms

言いい紛まぎらす
Standard kanji spelling.
言いい紛まぎらす
Variant without okurigana; less common but still encountered.

Kanji

言say, word
紛distract, be mistaken for, go astray

Similar words

ごまかす
ごまかす is broader: it can mean to deceive, cheat, or cover up by any means, not just with words. 言い紛らす specifically refers to using speech to obscure or evade.
はぐらかす
はぐらかす means to dodge a question or topic, often more casually or playfully. 言い紛らす implies a more deliberate, sometimes manipulative, verbal evasion.

Etymology

Compound of 言い (the continuative form of 言う, 'to say') and 紛らす ('to divert, to obscure'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the combination naturally yields the meaning 'to obscure by speaking'.