Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases by Peter Mark Roget

bearance†; refraining &c v.; inaction &c 681; neutrality. avoidance, evasion, elusion; seclusion &c 893. avolation†, flight; escape &c 671; retreat &c 287; recoil &c 277; departure &c 293; rejection &c 610. shirker &c v.; truant; fugitive, refugee; runaway, runagate; maroon. V. abstain, refrain, spare, not attempt; not do &c 681; maintain the even tenor of one's way. eschew, keep from, let alone, have nothing to do with; keep aloof keep off, stand aloof, stand off, hold aloof, hold off; take no part in, have no hand in. avoid, shun; steer clear of, keep clear of; fight shy of; keep one's distance, keep at a respectful distance; keep out of the way, get out of the way; evade, elude, turn away from; set one's face against &c (oppose) 708; deny oneself. shrink back; hang back, hold back, draw back; recoil &c 277; retire &c (recede) 287; flinch, blink, blench, shy, shirk, dodge, parry, make way for, give place to. beat a retreat; turn tail, turn one's back; take to one's heels; runaway, run for one's life; cut and run; be off like a shot; fly, flee; fly away, flee away, run away from; take flight, take to flight; desert, elope; make off, scamper off, sneak off, shuffle off, sheer off; break away, tear oneself away, slip away, slink away, steel away, make away from, scamper away from, sneak away from, shuffle away from, sheer away from; slip cable, part company, turn one's heel; sneak out of, play truant, give one the go by, give leg bail, take French leave, slope, decamp, flit, bolt, abscond, levant, skedaddle, absquatulat [U.S.], cut one's stick, walk one's chalks, show a light pair of heels, make oneself scarce; escape &c 671; go away &c (depart) 293; abandon &c 624; reject &c 610. lead one a dance, lead one a pretty dance; throw off the scent, play at hide and seek. Adj. unsought, unattempted; avoiding &c v.; neutral, shy of &c (unwilling) 603; elusive, evasive; fugitive, runaway; shy, wild. Adj. lest, in order to avoid. Int. forbear!, keep off, hands off!, sauve qui peut! [Fr.], every man for himself! [Fr.Tr.]; devil take the hindmost!, Phr. things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme [Paradise Lost].