beat around the bush
The phrase “beat around the bush” has 5 syllables: beat a-round the bush
It's pronounced as /biːt əˈraʊnd ðə bʊʃ/
What is synonym and antonym for beat around the bush?
In the thesaurus, “beat around the bush” has 26 synonyms.
Here are synonyms for beat around the bush along with examples of usage in sentences.
Synonyms for beat around the bush
- bypass
- cavil
- circumvent
- dodge
- duck
- elude
- equivocate
- eschew
- evade
- flip-flop
- fudge
- hedge
- hem and haw
- pussyfoot
- quibble
- shake
- shirk
- shun
- sidestep
- skirt
- straddle
- straddle the fence
- tergiversate
- waffle
- weasel
- yo-yo
Example Sentences
- Stop beat around the bush and tell me exactly what you mean.
- She didn’t beat around the bush and immediately stated her demands.
- The interviewer encouraged him not to beat around the bush during the answers.
- Instead of beat around the bush, he directly confronted the issue.
- Politicians often beat around the bush when asked difficult questions.
On this page you'll find 26 synonyms or another words to beat around the bush, such as: bypass, cavil, circumvent, dodge, duck, elude, equivocate.
Make sure to choose synonyms and antonyms that are appropriate for the context of the sentence.
Related Words
waffle
- beat about the bush
- beat around the bush
- blin
- blintz
- blintze
- bypass
- cavil
- change
- circumvent
- crepe
- dodge
- duck
- elude
- equivocate
- eschew
- evade
- flapjack
- flip-flop
- fudge
- griddle cake
- hedge
- hem and haw
- hotcake
- oatcake
- pancake
- pussyfoot
- quibble
- shake
- shirk
- shun
- sidestep
- skirt
- slapjack
- straddle
- straddle the fence
- tergiversate
- vacillate
- weasel
- wheat cake
- yo-yo
waffled
- beat about the bush
- beat around the bush
- bypassed
- caviled
- cavilled
- circumvented
- dodged
- ducked
- eluded
- equivocated
- eschewed
- evaded
- flip-flopped
- fudged
- hedged
- hemmed and hawed
- pussyfooted
- quibbled
- shirked
- shook
- shunned
- sidestepped
- skirted
- straddled
- straddled the fence
- tergiversated
- weaseled
- yo-yoed
jive
- BS
- Charleston
- Dixieland
- Janus-faced
- Pecksniffian
- absurdity
- act
- adulation
- advertise
- affect
- affected
- aggrandize
- alibi
- allege
- allusion
- amuse
- annoy
- answer
- apologetics
- apologia
- apologizing
- apology
- applause
- applesauce
- approbation
- argot
- argument
- artfulness
- artifact
- artifice
- artificial
- assume
- assumed
- attract attention
- babble
- backhanded
- badger
- badinage
- bait
- balderdash
- baloney
- bamboozle
- bamboozlement
- bananas
- banter
- be at
- be deceitful
- be hypocritical
- be noncommittal
- beat around the bush
- bebop
- bedevil
- beg the question
- beguile
- beleaguer
- belie
- bend
- betray
- bias
- bilk
- bill of goods
- blandishment
- blarney
- blather
- blow
- blow hot and cold
- blow smoke
- blues
- bluff
- bluster
- boast
- bogus
- bombast
- bon mot
- boogie
- boogie down
- boogie-woogie
- boondoggle
- bootlicking
- bop
- bother
- buckle
- bull
- bully
- bunco
- bunk
- bunkum
- bunny hop
- bureaucratese
- burlesque
- burn
- buzz
- caboodle
- cajolery
- campy
- cant
- canting
- caricature
- caricaturize
- cartoon
- catch
- cavil
- chaff
- chat
- chatter
- chatty
- cheat
- chicane
- chicanery
- chitchat
- chouse
- circumvent
- circumvention
- claim
- claim falsely
- claptrap
- cleanup
- clip
- cloud the issue
- cock-a-doodle-doo
- coin
- colloquial
- colloquialism
- colloquy
- coloring
- come-off
- commendation
- comment
- common
- communication
- communion
- computerese
- con
- con game
- concoct
- concoction
- confab
- confabulation
- conference
- confidence game
- conga
- congratulate oneself
- consultation
- contortion
- contrive
- contrived
- conversation
- conversational
- converse
- cop a plea
- cop out
- cop-out
- counterfeit
- cover
- cover story
- cover up
- cover-up
- coverup
- cozen
- cozening
- crack
- crack wise
- craft
- craftiness
- crap
- craziness
- create fiction
- crock
- crookedness
- crow
- cry
- cunning
- cut a rug
- cyberspeak
- debate
- deceit
- deceitful
- deceive
- deception
- decoy
- defense
- deflate
- defraud
- delude
- demotic
- deride
- device
- devil
- devious
- devise
- dialect
- dialectal
- diddle
- dirty dealing
- dirty pool
- dirty trick
- dirty work
- disco
- discussion
- disguise
- dishonest
- dishonesty
- disinform
- dissemblance
- dissemble
- dissimulate
- dissimulation
- distort
- disturb
- ditch
- divert
- do
- do a number on
- do number on
- do out of
- dodge
- dodging
- dog
- double
- double-cross
- double-deal
- double-dealing
- double-faced
- double-talk
- drivel
- duck
- dupe
- duplicity
- educationese
- elaborate explanation
- elude
- elusion
- embezzle
- empty
- empty talk
- encomium
- entertain
- equivocate
- equivocating
- equivocation
- escape
- eschew
- eschewal
- eulogy
- evade
- evading
- evasion
- evasiveness
- everyday
- exaggerate
- exaggeration
- exchange
- exculpation
- excuse
- excusing
- exoneration
- expedient
- explaining
- expose
- expression
- extenuation
- exult
- eyewash
- fable
- fabricate
- facade
- facetious
- facile
- fairy story
- fake
- fake out
- fakery
- fallacy
- false
- false front
- falsehood
- falsify
- fancy footwork
- farce
- fast one
- fast shuffle
- fatuity
- fawning
- feign
- feigned
- feint
- fence
- fib
- fiction
- figment
- fish
- fish story
- fix
- flapdoodle
- flatter oneself
- flattering
- flaunt
- fleece
- fleer
- flightiness
- flimflam
- flip-flop
- flourish
- flout
- flummery
- foil
- folly
- fool
- foolery
- foolishness
- foot it
- forced
- forge
- forgery
- form
- foul play
- fox
- foxtrot
- frame
- fraud
- frolic
- fudge
- fudging
- fugiviteness
- fugivity
- fulsomeness
- fun
- funny
- fusion jazz
- futile talk
- gab
- gag
- gallantry
- gambol
- game
- garbage
- garble
- gasconade
- get down
- gibberish
- gibe
- giddiness
- gimmick
- gird
- give a good account of oneself
- give a hard time
- give the runaround
- glib
- gloat
- glory
- gnaw
- goad
- gobbledygook
- goof on
- gossip
- governmentese
- grandstand
- grapevine
- grounds
- gull
- hanky-panky
- harass
- harry
- haze
- hearing
- hearsay
- hector
- hedge
- hem and haw
- hint
- hoax
- hoaxing
- hocus-pocus
- hogwash
- hokum
- hollow
- hollow words
- honeyed words
- hoodwink
- hooey
- hop
- horse around
- hot air
- hot jazz
- hot-dog
- hug oneself
- humbug
- humiliate
- hustle
- hypocrisy
- hypocritical
- hypocritical respect
- hypocriticalness
- idiocy
- idiom
- idiomatic
- idle talk
- illogicality
- illogicalness
- illude
- illusion
- imitation
- impersonate
- importune
- impose on
- impose upon
- impostor
- imposture
- improbability
- improvisational music
- imprudence
- inanity
- incongruity
- ingratiation
- innuendo
- insanity
- insincere
- insincerity
- insinuation
- intercourse
- intorsion
- invent
- invention
- irrationality
- jabber
- jape
- jargon
- jaw
- jazz
- jeer
- jest
- jibe
- jig
- jitter
- jitterbug
- jocular
- joke
- jolly
- josh
- journalese
- juggle
- juke
- jump
- justification
- kid
- kid around
- lampoon
- language
- laud
- laugh
- laugh at
- lay claim
- lay on thick
- lead on
- lead up garden path
- leap
- left-handed
- let on
- lie
- line
- lingo
- lip
- lip devotion
- lip homage
- lip praise
- lip reverence
- lip worship
- localism
- ludicrousness
- madness
- make a fool of
- make a game of
- make a laughingstock
- make believe
- make fun of
- make like
- make merry
- make out
- make up
- makeshift
- malarkey
- malconformation
- malformation
- malinger
- masquerade
- mealy
- mealymouthed
- meaningless
- mechanical
- milk
- mimic
- mince words
- misguide
- misinterpretation
- mislead
- misrepresent
- misrepresentation
- misshape
- misspeak
- misstatement
- misuse
- mitigation
- mock
- mockery
- monologue
- mousetrap
- mouth
- mouth honor
- mouthing
- mumbo jumbo
- mush
- mutilation
- myth
- needle
- noise
- nonsense
- nudge
- number
- obliqueness
- obsequiousness
- observation
- off-time
- one-liner
- one-step
- opus
- outfox
- outwit
- palaver
- palter
- pan
- parlance
- parley
- parody
- parry
- pass off
- pass oneself off as
- pass the buck
- pat oneself on the back
- patois
- patter
- persiflage
- perversion
- pester
- pharisaical
- pharisaism
- phoney
- phoney-baloney
- phoniness
- phony
- phony up
- phony-baloney
- pick on
- pidgin
- piffle
- pilfer
- pillow talk
- pious
- pitch
- plague
- plant
- plaudits
- play
- play a trick on
- play for a fool
- play the clown
- play trick on
- play tricks
- play-act
- plea
- pleasantry
- poke fun
- poke fun at
- pooh-pooh
- poppycock
- popular
- prank
- prate
- prattle
- preen
- pretend
- pretended
- pretense
- pretext
- pretty speech
- prevaricate
- prevarication
- profess
- promenade
- promote
- prose
- provincialism
- psych
- psych out
- puff
- puffery
- pull fast one
- pull wool over
- purport
- pussyfoot
- put down
- put on
- put one over on
- put up a front
- put-on
- questioning
- quibble
- quip
- quiz
- racket
- rag
- ragtime
- rail at
- raillery
- rally
- ranting
- rashness
- rationalization
- razz
- regionalism
- regrets
- rejoinder
- remark
- repartee
- reply
- report
- response
- retort
- return
- revel
- rhumba
- rib
- rib-tickler
- ride
- ridicule
- ridiculousness
- rigmarole
- rip off
- ripoff
- roast
- rob
- rodomontade
- rook
- rot
- routine
- rubbish
- rumble
- rumor
- run around
- run down
- runaround
- ruse
- sales talk
- sally
- samba
- sanctimonious
- satirize
- scam
- scoff
- scorn
- scout
- scrawl
- scribble
- scuttlebutt
- self-righteous
- sell
- sellout
- semblance
- send up
- senselessness
- set up
- shady deal
- shaft
- sham
- sharp practice
- shell game
- shift
- shilly-shally
- shirking
- shoot
- shop
- shoptalk
- shovel
- show off
- show up
- showboat
- shuck
- shuffle
- shuffling
- shunning
- sidestep
- silliness
- simon-pure
- simulate
- simulated
- sit on the fence
- slam
- slang
- slanguage
- slant
- sling
- small talk
- smoke
- smooth talk
- snap
- snare
- sneer
- snow
- snow job
- soft soap
- soft words
- soft-soap
- song
- song and dance
- sophism
- sophistry
- sound
- sound off
- speak with forked tongue
- speech
- spiel
- spin
- spoof
- sport
- stab in the back
- stall
- step
- stick
- sting
- stonewall
- stopgap
- story
- strained
- stratagem
- street
- stretch the truth
- string along
- stroking
- strut
- stultiloquence
- stunt
- stupidity
- substitute
- subterfuge
- suck in
- sucker
- sucker into
- superficial
- swagger
- sweet-talk
- swindle
- swing
- swipe at
- sycophancy
- take
- take for a ride
- take in
- take off
- take the mickey out of
- take to the cleaners
- takeoff
- talk
- talk big
- talkfest
- tall story
- tango
- tantalize
- tap
- taunt
- tease
- technobabble
- tell a little white lie
- tell white lie
- temporize
- tergiversate
- tergiverse
- terminology
- the business
- thoughtlessness
- toadyism
- token agreement
- tokenism
- tomfoolery
- tongue-in-cheek
- torment
- torture
- trap
- trash
- travesty
- treachery
- tribute
- trick
- trickery
- trickiness
- trifle
- trip the light fantastic
- tripe
- triumph
- truckling
- trump up
- twaddle
- twist
- twistedness
- twit
- two-faced
- two-step
- unctuous
- unctuousness
- unmask
- unnatural
- unreasonableness
- untruth
- untruthful
- useless words
- vapor
- vaunt
- ventilation
- vernacular
- vernacularism
- vex
- victimize
- vindication
- visit
- vocabulary
- waffle
- waltz
- warp
- weasel
- whitewash
- why and wherefore
- wile
- wiliness
- wisecrack
- witticism
- work
- worry
- wrinkle
- wrong
- yak
- yarn
- yuck
- yuk
elude
- avert
- avoid
- baffle
- ban
- bar
- be beyond someone
- beat around the bush
- bilk
- bypass
- circumvent
- confound
- cop out
- debar
- deflect
- ditch
- divert
- dodge
- double
- duck
- eliminate
- escape
- eschew
- evade
- except
- exclude
- fight shy of
- finesse
- flee
- fly
- foil
- fox
- frustrate
- get around
- get away from
- give the runaround
- give the slip
- give wide berth to
- hem and haw
- keep clear of
- miss
- not touch
- obviate
- outfox
- outrun
- outsmart
- outwit
- overreach
- parry
- pass the buck
- pass up
- preclude
- prevent
- puzzle
- rule out
- run around
- scape
- shake
- shirk
- shuck
- shun
- shy
- skirt
- stall
- stay clear of
- stay shy of
- steer clear of
- stonewall
- stump
- thwart
eluded
- averted
- avoided
- baffle
- banned
- barred
- be beyond someone
- beat around the bush
- bilk
- bypassed
- circumvent
- circumvented
- confound
- cop out
- debarred
- deflected
- ditch
- diverted
- dodge
- dodged
- double
- duck
- ducked
- eliminated
- escaped
- eschew
- eschewed
- evade
- evaded
- excepted
- excluded
- finessed
- flee
- fly
- foil
- foiled
- fought shy of
- foxed
- frustrate
- frustrated
- get around
- get away from
- give the runaround
- give the slip
- give wide berth to
- got around
- hem and haw
- kept clear of
- missed
- not touch
- obviated
- outfoxed
- outrun
- outsmarted
- outwit
- outwitted
- overreached
- parried
- pass the buck
- pass up
- precluded
- prevented
- puzzle
- ruled out
- run around
- scaped
- shirk
- shirked
- shook
- shuck
- shun
- shunned
- shy
- skirted
- stall
- stay shy of
- stayed clear of
- steer clear of
- steered clear of
- stonewall
- stump
- thwart
- thwarted