evade their responsibility

USAGE SUMMARY

'evade their responsibility' is a correct and usable phrase in written English.
It can be used when someone is shirking their duty or trying to avoid taking on a task that they are obligated to take on. For example, "The employees had attempted to evade their responsibility by refusing to take on the additional workload."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Encyclopedias

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

7 human-written examples

They will have simply contrived to evade their responsibility for them.

The New Yorker

Fox and North had no wish to evade their responsibility for ending a system of misgovernment in India that had alarmed and disquieted English statesmen of all parties.

Encyclopedia Britannica

So that's very troubling — because they seem to be trying to use liquidation to evade their responsibility as far as we can tell".

TechCrunch

The oppressors maintain their position and evade their responsibility for their own actions.

Vice

"Women are expected to educate men… The oppressors maintain their position and evade their responsibility for their own actions.

Vice

My favourite bit of business from Audre Lorde ("Black and Third World people are expected to educate white people as to our humanity. Women are expected to educate men. Lesbians and gay men are expected to educate the heterosexual world. The oppressors maintain their position and evade their responsibility for their own actions…") is easily enough applied to class, too, in theory.

Vice

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

50 human-written examples

About $100 million will be cut from Superfund enforcement, allowing companies to evade their responsibilities to clean up environmental disasters.

The New York Times

The United States and the I.A.E.A. will never evade their responsibilities for compelling the D.P.R.K. to withdraw from the treaty, by ignoring the D.P.R.K.'s last efforts to seek a peaceful settlement of the nuclear issue through negotiations.

The New York Times

By placing almost all the onus of adjustment and evolution on the immigrant population, this unrealistic expectation tends to encourage the authorities and political class to evade their responsibilities to facilitate this evolution and inhibits the emergence of a political party consensus on the principles that should underlie the integration process.True.

The Economist

If states and cities try to evade their responsibilities to implement water quality rules, the federal government is required to step in and protect the public.

Huffington Post

Such factors may have made it easier for parties to evade their responsibilities.

Health Research Policy and Systems

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "evade their responsibility" when you want to emphasize a deliberate act of avoiding a duty or obligation, especially when there's an expectation that the responsibility should be fulfilled.

Common error

Avoid using "evade their responsibility" when describing situations where someone unintentionally fails to meet their obligations. "Evade" implies a conscious and intentional effort to avoid something, so it's not appropriate for passive negligence.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "evade their responsibility" functions as a verb phrase, where "evade" is the verb and "their responsibility" is the object. Ludwig AI validates it as a proper construction, denoting the action of shirking or avoiding a duty or obligation.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

News & Media

75%

Encyclopedias

13%

Science

12%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Academia

0%

Social Media

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "evade their responsibility" is a grammatically correct and meaningful expression used to indicate a deliberate attempt to avoid fulfilling a duty or obligation. As Ludwig AI confirms, this phrase is well-regarded and appropriate for use in various contexts, predominantly in News & Media. While alternatives like "shirk their responsibility" or "avoid their responsibility" exist, "evade" carries a nuance of intentionality and strategic avoidance. It is most effectively used when highlighting a conscious effort to escape accountability, rather than a mere oversight or unintentional failure. Using "evade their responsibility" in this context makes the writing more precise and impactful.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

shirk their responsibility

This alternative directly implies a neglect or avoidance of duty.

avoid their responsibility

This alternative suggests a conscious effort to stay away from the duty.

dodge their responsibility

This alternative emphasizes skillful evasion or quick movement to avoid duty.

skirt their responsibility

This suggests a way of dealing with a duty without really tackling it.

escape their responsibility

This emphasizes the complete avoidance of a duty as if escaping from confinement.

sidestep their responsibility

This suggests maneuvering around the duty.

neglect their responsibility

This emphasizes a failure to adequately perform a duty.

decline their responsibility

This implies a refusal to accept a duty.

ignore their responsibility

This suggests a conscious disregard for the assigned duty.

abandon their responsibility

This implies a complete relinquishment of a duty.

FAQs

How can I use "evade their responsibility" in a sentence?

You can use "evade their responsibility" to describe a situation where someone is intentionally avoiding a duty or obligation. For example, "The company was accused of attempting to "evade their responsibility" for the environmental damage."

What are some alternatives to "evade their responsibility"?

You can use alternatives like "shirk their responsibility", "avoid their responsibility", or "dodge their responsibility" depending on the context.

Is there a subtle difference between "avoiding their responsibility" and "evading their responsibility"?

While both imply not fulfilling a duty, "evading their responsibility" suggests a more deliberate and strategic attempt to escape the obligation, whereas "avoiding their responsibility" can be more general. Think of evasion as a clever escape, and avoidance as simply staying away.

When is it inappropriate to use the phrase "evade their responsibility"?

It's inappropriate to use "evade their responsibility" when describing unintentional failures or oversights. The term implies intent, so it's best suited for situations where someone knowingly tries to escape a duty.