as in to weasel
to avoid giving a definite answer or position
the candidate equivocated as long as he could on controversial issues
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in ambiguity
deliberate evasion in speech
your equivocation when asked where you were last night is not reassuring
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ambiguousness
the quality or state of having a veiled or uncertain meaning
the equivocation of the last line of the poem, "That is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know"
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of equivocate
Chris Morris, Fortune, 29 Nov. 2024
There was a lot of miscommunication and mistrust between critical players in the opposition and Maduro’s equivocating supporters.
—Zach Dorfman, WIRED, 31 Oct. 2024
Eli Amdur, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025
This moral equivocation has sent a signal of impunity to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who now openly threatens Armenia's sovereignty.
—John Mac Ghlionn, Newsweek, 14 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for equivocate
Verb
Hoping to entice equivocating consumers, retailers already have spent weeks bombarding customers with ads and early offers.
—Chris Morris, Fortune, 29 Nov. 2024
There was a lot of miscommunication and mistrust between critical players in the opposition and Maduro’s equivocating supporters.
—Zach Dorfman, WIRED, 31 Oct. 2024
Noun
Decision Made After all, that question about full speed ahead or hold your horses has been settled without equivocation.
—Eli Amdur, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025
This moral equivocation has sent a signal of impunity to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who now openly threatens Armenia's sovereignty.
—John Mac Ghlionn, Newsweek, 14 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for equivocate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for equivocate
Verb
-
Trying to weasel things by providing additional levels is abhorrent.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes,
20 Nov. 2024
-
But when Douglas doesn’t invite her to the business dinner, the show suddenly takes a turn into wacky sitcom territory, with Maxine trying to weasel her way into Douglas’s business to meet and invite the Prince to the Beach Ball.—
Tom Smyth,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2024
Noun
-
There’s no ambiguity, no pretense, just a lunch pail and a hard hat.—
Chris Perkins,
Sun Sentinel,
26 Mar. 2025
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Organizations can train their systems to tolerate more ambiguity, metabolize more change, and rebound more quickly.—
Scott Hutcheson,
Forbes.com,
26 Mar. 2025
Verb
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In the past, Boston has been able to shake off adversity and remain successful.—
Carol Schram,
Forbes.com,
31 Mar. 2025
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New tariffs take effect this week upending global alliances, shaking business and consumer confidence, and rattling the markets.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
30 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Randall hunched over his drums and played a fast Ringo shuffle.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
16 Mar. 2025
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Players can use a shuffle button to mix up the words on the screen if they get stuck.—
Mark Davis,
Newsweek,
16 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Here, instead, she’s swayed by a dead Diana softly squeezing her hand and kindly hinting — the dead Diana is an ace at tactful circumlocution — that now is the time to show a mourning nation some emotion.—
Tom Gliatto,
Peoplemag,
16 Nov. 2023
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By condensing Balzac’s opus to a few paragraphs, Barthelme was having a laugh not just at his predecessor’s genteel circumlocution—his tendency to describe buildings and manufacturing procedures and family trees in lavish detail—but also at the conventions of novelistic mimesis itself.—
Giles Harvey,
The New York Review of Books,
23 Apr. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Equivocate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/equivocate. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.
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