Meaning

3 senses

  1. (intransitive)To evade, to equivocate using subterfuge; to obfuscate in a deliberate manner.

    уклоня́тьсяuklonjátʹsja, уви́ливатьuvílivatʹ, увёртыватьсяuvjórtyvatʹsja

  2. (intransitive)To change sides or affiliation; to apostatize.

    предава́тьpredavátʹ, отступа́тьсяotstupátʹsja, переметну́тьсяperemetnútʹsja

  3. (intransitive, rare)To flee by turning one's back.

More definitions
  • abandon one's beliefs or allegiances
  • be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information

Translations

4 languages
Русский
By meaning 2
to evade, to equivocate using subterfuge; to deliberately obfuscate:
to change sides or affiliation; to apostatize:

Origin

Borrowed from Latin tergiversātus, perfect active participle of tergiversor (“to evade, to

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.

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Forms

tergiversates, tergiversating, tergiversated, tergiversated
Base formtergiversate · to tergiversate
3rd person singulartergiversates
Present participletergiversating
Past simpletergiversated
Past participletergiversated

regular · Lesson

Present simpleLesson

I, you, we, theytergiversate
he, she, ittergiversates

Past simpleLesson

all personstergiversated

Present perfectLesson

I, you, we, theyhave tergiversated
he, she, ithas tergiversated

Future simple (will)Lesson

all personswill tergiversate

Synonyms

7 synonyms
to change sides:desertC1
to evade, obfuscate:prevaricatebeat around the bush
Close in meaning

Word family

2 related words
Relatedtergiversationtergiversator

Lessons for this word

3 lessons

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
tenuretequilateresatermB1terminalB1
tergiversate — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto