tergiversation

noun

ˌtər-ˌji-vər-ˈsā-shən How to pronounce tergiversation (audio)
Definition of tergiversationnext
as in ambiguity
deliberate evasion in speech like many politicians, he has the gift for tergiversation

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tergiversation
  1. ambiguity
  2. shuffle
  3. circumlocution
  4. equivocation
Noun
  • This ambiguity will continue to stifle innovation and will leave banks uncertain about how to proceed, or whether they are permitted to proceed at all.
    — Gene A. Grant II, Forbes, 12 Mar. 2025
  • A lot of them also indicate a psychotic break, introducing an element of ambiguity that’s true to life and also smart for an independent filmmaker without a huge budget for alien effects.
    — Katie Rife, IndieWire, 12 Mar. 2025
Definition of ambiguity
Noun
  • Randall hunched over his drums and played a fast Ringo shuffle.
    — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 16 Mar. 2025
  • Players can use a shuffle button to mix up the words on the screen if they get stuck.
    — Mark Davis, Newsweek, 16 Mar. 2025
Definition of shuffle
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
  • 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
Definition of circumlocution
Noun
  • There is no equivocation about whether or not Jamie killed Katie.
    — Paul Tassi, Forbes, 19 Mar. 2025
  • Ultimately, what may matter most is what Trump wants given his near total control of Washington, but the current equivocation from congressional Republicans is pronounced.
    — Shahar Ziv, Forbes, 6 Mar. 2025
Definition of equivocation
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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tergiversation
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Cite this Entry

“Tergiversation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tergiversation. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025.

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