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- Dictionarytergiversate/ˈtəːdʒɪvəˌseɪt/
verb
- 1. make conflicting or evasive statements; equivocate: "the more she tergiversated, the greater grew the ardency of the reporters for an interview"
- 2. change one's loyalties; abandon a belief or principle.
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noun. Synonyms. equivocate. fudge. hedge. pussyfoot. waffle. weasel. See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus. Examples of tergiversate in a Sentence. shamelessly tergiversating, the witness replied, “Well, it depends upon what your definition of ‘truth’ is”
Tergiversate definition: to change repeatedly one's attitude or opinions with respect to a cause, subject, etc.; equivocate. . See examples of TERGIVERSATE used in a sentence.
2 meanings: 1. to change sides or loyalties; apostatize 2. to be evasive or ambiguous; equivocate.... Click for more definitions.
the act of making statements that are different from each other, so that they cannot both be true: His tergiversations suggest a mind uncomfortable with either a Western or an Eastern identity. the fact of not being loyal to someone or something. SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases. Denying & contradicting. abnegate. abnegation. breath.
Use the verb tergiversate when you need a fancy way to describe someone who's beating around the bush, or being deliberately unclear. A politician who really doesn't want to answer a reporter's question is likely to tergiversate, or talk and talk without ever taking a definitive stand.
1. to change repeatedly one's attitude or opinions with respect to a cause, subject, etc.; equivocate. 2. to turn renegade. [1645–55; < Latin tergiversātus, past participle of tergiversārī to turn one's back] ter`gi•ver•sa′tion, n. ter′gi•ver•sa`tor, (-ˈvɜr sənt) n.
Definition of tergiversate verb in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
