| Library / English Dictionary |
TERGIVERSATE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (verb)
Verb forms
Present simple: I / you / we / they tergiversate ... he / she / it tergiversates
Past simple: tergiversated
Past participle: tergiversated
-ing form: tergiversating
Sense 1
Meaning:
Abandon one's beliefs or allegiances
Synonyms:
apostatise; apostatize; tergiversate
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Hypernyms (to "tergiversate" is one way to...):
disown; renounce; repudiate (cast off)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Derivation:
tergiversation (the act of abandoning a party for cause)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information
Synonyms:
beat around the bush; equivocate; palter; prevaricate; tergiversate
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Hypernyms (to "tergiversate" is one way to...):
misinform; mislead (give false or misleading information to)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP
Derivation:
tergiversation (falsification by means of vague or ambiguous language)
