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
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of equivocate
The Editors, National Review, 16 Aug. 2024
Lots of politicians equivocate about U.S. alliances with dubious Middle Eastern allies.
—Jim Geraghty, Washington Post, 31 July 2024
Sara Holdren, Vulture, 28 Feb. 2024
Five years ago, climate change was a top concern in the bloc without equivocation.
—Justin Worland, TIME, 13 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for equivocate 
Verb
Told unequivocally that the atmosphere at Columbia was hostile, Shafik equivocated — until the anarchy escalated to the point that the university had no choice but to call in the NYPD.
—The Editors, National Review, 16 Aug. 2024
Lots of politicians equivocate about U.S. alliances with dubious Middle Eastern allies.
—Jim Geraghty, Washington Post, 31 July 2024
Noun
That means October 7 looms, and Asaf’s equivocation lands with the icy crunch of a snowball full of nails lobbed brutally out of the recent past.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 28 Feb. 2024
Five years ago, climate change was a top concern in the bloc without equivocation.
—Justin Worland, TIME, 13 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for equivocate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for equivocate
Verb
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Trying to weasel things by providing additional levels is abhorrent.Lance Eliot, Forbes, 20 Nov. 2024
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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
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There’s no The Bear-style ambiguity for awards purposes.Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Dec. 2024
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To play the ambiguity was the most challenging and fun part of being part of the show.Lynette Rice, Deadline, 11 Dec. 2024
Verb
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The Texas Cheerleader Murder Plot delves into a crime that shook the town of Channelview, Texas, in 1991.Tim Ryan, Newsweek, 18 Dec. 2024
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Warner, however, was looking to shake things up and get Bogart out of being typecast as a gangster.Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 17 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Rotation shuffle: With Kevin Love missing the game with the back spasms that had him out after his initial stint in Tuesday night’s loss to the Bucks, first-round pick Ware played as the Heat’s first big man off the bench.Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 27 Nov. 2024
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The clogs—which are filled with some sort of Tempurpedic material inside and come in a variety of designs for all animal lovers—are so comfortable for a morning shuffle to the coffee shop or around the backyard.Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 26 Nov. 2024
Noun
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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
Thesaurus Entries Near equivocate
Cite this Entry
“Equivocate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/equivocate. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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