Tergiversation

Pronunciation

• IPA: /tɜːd͡ʒɪvəˈseɪʃən/
• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Origin

From Latin tergiversātiō.

Full definition of tergiversation

Noun

1. The act of abandoning something or someone, of changing sides; desertion; betrayal.
• 1985, John Fowles, A Maggot, 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.
2. The act of evading any clear course of action or speech, of being deliberately ambiguous; equivocation; fickleness.

Related terms

• tergiversate

Anagrams

• interrogatives