Sidestepping

The act of avoiding a topic, issue, or situation by shifting focus or redirecting attention, often to evade responsibility or confrontation. sidestepping can occur in various contexts, such as conversation, decision-making, or physical movement. In a figurative sense, it represents an approach to navigate challenges or questions without directly addressing them, often implying a lack of engagement or commitment.

Sidestepping meaning with examples

• During the meeting, instead of addressing the team's concerns about budget cuts, the manager began sidestepping the issue by discussing unrelated achievements from the previous quarter, leaving everyone feeling frustrated and unheard.
• In a heated debate about climate change, the politician was caught sidestepping critical questions about his environmental policies, cleverly redirecting the conversation to past economic successes instead of offering tangible solutions.
• When asked about his plans for the future, John found himself sidestepping the question with vague statements about enjoying the present, all the while avoiding any commitment to long-term goals that his friends were eager to hear about.
• At the family gathering, when his cousin brought up a sensitive topic regarding their shared past, Mark resorted to sidestepping the discussion by making a joke, which led to an awkward laugh but no resolution to the undercurrents of tension in the room.