cop out

cop out
    v 1: choose not to do something, as out of fear of failing; "She
         copped out when she was supposed to get into the hang
         glider" [syn: {opt out}, {cop out}]
    

99 Moby Thesaurus words for "cop out":
      abatement of differences, abstain, abstention, accommodate,
      accommodation, adjust, adjustment, alibi, anythingarianism,
      arrangement, bargain, cash in, check out, compose, composition,
      compound, compromise, concession, conk, cop a plea, croak, deal,
      desertion of principle, die, drop, duck responsibility,
      duck the issue, escape without penalty, evade,
      evade responsibility, evade the issue, evasion,
      evasion of responsibility, excuse, fence-sitting,
      forsake the world, get away with, get by, get off, get off cheap,
      give and take, give way, give-and-take, giving way, go,
      go at liberty, go fifty-fifty, go free, go into retirement,
      go scot free, impartiality, independence, kick in, kick off,
      lame excuse, likely story, live alone, live apart,
      live in retirement, make a deal, make an adjustment,
      make concessions, meet halfway, mugwumpery, mugwumpism,
      mutual concession, neutralism, neutrality, nonalignment,
      noncommitment, noninvolvement, nonpartisanism, nothingarianism,
      out, peg out, play politics, poor excuse, reach a compromise,
      remain incommunicado, retire, rusticate, settle, settlement,
      sit it out, split the difference, stand neuter, stay at home,
      straddle, strict neutrality, strike a balance, strike a bargain,
      surrender, take the mean, take the veil, trim, understanding,
      win freedom, yield, yielding