Tergiversation \Ter`gi*ver*sa"tion\, n. [L. tergiversario: cf.
F. tergiversation.]
1. The act of tergiversating; a shifting; shift; subterfuge;
evasion.
[1913 Webster]
Writing is to be preferred before verbal
conferences, as being freer from passions and
tergiversations. --Abp.
Bramhall.
[1913 Webster]
2. Fickleness of conduct; inconstancy; change.
[1913 Webster]
The colonel, after all his tergiversations, lost his
life in the king's service. --Clarendon.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
tergiversation
n 1: falsification by means of vague or ambiguous language [syn:
equivocation]
2: the act of abandoning a party or cause [syn: apostasy]
WordNet (r) 2.0
18 Moby Thesaurus words for "tergiversation":
about-face, amphibology, apostasy, denial, desertion, disavowal,
double entendre, double meaning, equivocality, equivocation,
equivoque, falseness, forswearing, recreancy, renunciation,
repudiation, reversal, reverse
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
apostasy, equivocation
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