Dictionary Definition
tergiversation
Noun
1 falsification by means of vague or ambiguous
language [syn: equivocation]
2 the act of abandoning a party or cause [syn:
apostasy]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Etymology
From Latin tergiversari.Pronunciation
- /tɜ:ʤɪvə'seɪʃən/
Noun
- the act of turning one's back; abandoning something or someone;
betrayal
-
- 1985: They make their outward impudence their mask, as foxes, the better we may not see where they truly tend, nor their true black tergiversation beneath. — John Fowles, A Maggot
-
- the act of turning from a clear course of action; equivocation; fickleness
Related terms
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
about-face, amphibology, apostasy, denial, desertion, disavowal, double entendre,
double meaning, equivocality, equivocation, equivoque, falseness, forswearing, recreancy, renunciation, repudiation, reversal, reverse