tergiversation
tergiversation · tergiversations
The act of abandoning something or someone, of changing sidesThe act of abandoning something or someone, of changing sides; desertion; betrayal.
UK/tɜːd͡ʒɪvəˈseɪʃən/US/tɝd͡ʒɪvɚˈseɪʃən/
Meaning
2 senses(countable, uncountable)The act of abandoning something or someone, of changing sides; desertion; betrayal.
the act of abandoning a party for cause
(countable, uncountable)The act of evading any clear course of action or speech, of being deliberately ambiguous; equivocation; fickleness.
Translations
2 languagesOrigin
From Latin tergiversātiō, from tergiversārī (“to turn one's back, to evade, to avoid”) + -From Latin tergiversātiō, from tergiversārī (“to turn one's back, to evade, to avoid”) + -tiō (“-tion: forming abstract nouns”). Equivalent to tergiversate + -ion.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: tergiversations| Singular | tergiversation |
|---|---|
| Plural | tergiversations |
regular
Synonyms
18 synonymstreacheryC2perfidyproditionbetrayalbreach of promisebreach of trustdouble-dealingJudas kissperfidiousnessPunic faithstab in the backswiketraitorytreacherousness
Close in meaning
- the act of abandoning a party for cause:apostasy
- falsification by means of vague or ambiguous language:equivocation
Word family
1 related wordsRelatedtergiversate
Lessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable