tergiversate

verb
/ˈtɜːd͡ʒɪvəseɪt/UK/tɝˈd͡ʒɪvɝseɪt/US

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin tergiversātus, perfect active participle of tergiversor (“to evade, to avoid, to turn one's back on”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from tergum (“back, hind”) + versor (“to turn”). Compare French tergiverser.

  1. borrowed from tergiversātus

Definitions

  1. To evade, to equivocate using subterfuge

    To evade, to equivocate using subterfuge; to obfuscate in a deliberate manner.

    • The officials soon concluded that the easiest way to remain on good terms with the court was to elude responsibility, to tergiversate, to prevent results.
  2. To change sides or affiliation

    To change sides or affiliation; to apostatize.

    • Henry had hesitated before authorising the spoliation; he would soon tergiversate on other matters of doctrine but this act was irreversible.
  3. To flee by turning one's back.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for tergiversate. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA