tergiversate

intransitive-verb
UK: /tɜːˈvɜːsɪɡeɪt/
US: /tɜːrˈvɜːrsɪɡeɪt/

  1. To avoid giving a direct answer or making a clear statement; to be evasive.

    1. He tends to tergiversate when asked about his future plans.
    2. The politician began to tergiversate, avoiding any commitment to the issue.

  2. To change one's mind or be inconsistent in one's beliefs or actions.

    1. She will tergiversate to keep everyone happy.
    2. He accused her of tergiversating on her stance on the environmental regulations.

  3. To turn one's back on a cause or party; to apostatize.

    1. He chose to tergiversate when the scandal started.
    2. The activist chose to tergiversate, betraying all his previous allies.

Synonyms

equivocate prevaricate hedge vacillate waver shuffle
tergiversate transitive-verb

  1. To cause someone to turn away from a belief or course of action.

    1. Don't tergiversate him from his goals.
    2. They tried to tergiversate her from her strong moral principles.

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "tergiversate" in English means: To avoid giving a direct answer or making a clear statement; to be evasive., To change one's mind or be inconsistent in one's beliefs or actions., To turn one's back on a cause or party; to apostatize..

The phonetic transcription of "tergiversate" is /tɜːˈvɜːsɪɡeɪt/ in British English and /tɜːrˈvɜːrsɪɡeɪt/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "tergiversate": equivocate, prevaricate, hedge, vacillate, waver, shuffle.

Example usage of "tergiversate": "He tends to tergiversate when asked about his future plans.". More examples on the page.