tergiversate
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English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Latin tergiversārī (“to evade, to avoid, to turn one's back on”) + English -ate (“forming verbs”), from tergum (“back, hind”) + vertere (“to turn”).
Pronunciation
[edit]- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈtɜːd͡ʒɪvəseɪt/
- (US) enPR: tər-jɪv'ər-sāt, IPA(key): /tɝˈd͡ʒɪvɝseɪt/
Audio (US): (file)
Verb
[edit]tergiversate (third-person singular simple present tergiversates, present participle tergiversating, simple past and past participle tergiversated)
- (intransitive) To evade, to equivocate using subterfuge; to obfuscate in a deliberate manner.
- 1999, Philip McCutchan, Werner Levi, The Hoof, →ISBN, page 18:
- 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.
- (intransitive) To change sides or affiliation; to apostatize.
- 2002, Colin Morris, Peter Roberts, chapter 8, in Pilgrimage: The English Experience from Becket to Bunyan, →ISBN, page 221:
- Henry had hesitated before authorising the spoliation; he would soon tergiversate on other matters of doctrine but this act was irreversible.
- (intransitive, rare) To flee by turning one's back.
Synonyms
[edit]- (to evade, obfuscate): prevaricate, beat around the bush
- (to change sides): desert
Related terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]to evade, to equivocate using subterfuge; to deliberately obfuscate
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to change sides or affiliation; to apostatize
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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References
[edit]- “tergiversate, v.”, in OED Online
, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 2022.
Italian
[edit]Etymology 1
[edit]Verb
[edit]tergiversate
- inflection of tergiversare:
Etymology 2
[edit]Participle
[edit]tergiversate f pl
Anagrams
[edit]Latin
[edit]Participle
[edit]tergiversāte
Spanish
[edit]Verb
[edit]tergiversate
- second-person singular voseo imperative of tergiversar combined with te
Categories:
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with rare senses
- English terms suffixed with -ate
- Italian non-lemma forms
- Italian verb forms
- Italian past participle forms
- Latin non-lemma forms
- Latin participle forms
- Spanish non-lemma forms
- Spanish verb forms