tergiversation
English edit
Etymology edit
From Latin tergiversātiō, from tergiversārī (“to turn one's back, to evade, to avoid”) + -tiō (“-tion: forming abstract nouns”). Equivalent to tergiversate + -tion.
Pronunciation edit
- (General American) IPA(key): /tɝd͡ʒɪvɚˈseɪʃən/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /tɜːd͡ʒɪvəˈseɪʃən/
Audio (Southern England) (file)
- Rhymes: -eɪʃən
Noun edit
tergiversation (countable and uncountable, plural tergiversations)
- The act of abandoning something or someone, of changing sides; desertion; betrayal.
- 1985, John Fowles, A Maggot:
- They make their outward impudence their mask, as foxes, the better we may not see where they truly tend, nor their true black tergiversation beneath.
- The act of evading any clear course of action or speech, of being deliberately ambiguous; equivocation; fickleness.
- 1931, Bertrand Russell, The Scientific Outlook:
- Anyone who desires an hour's amusement may be advised to look up the tergiversations of eminent craniologists in their attempts to prove from brain measurements that women are stupider than men.
Related terms edit
Translations edit
act of abandoning, changing sides
|
act of evading clear course
Anagrams edit
French edit
Etymology edit
From Latin tergiversātiōnem.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
tergiversation f (plural tergiversations)
- delays in providing a clear answer caused by hesitations or an outright unwillingness to be forthright
Usage notes edit
- Usage as a pluralia tantum rather than as a mass noun is more common.
Further reading edit
- “tergiversation”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.