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tergiversation

ter·gi·ver·sate
T t

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [tur-ji-ver-seyt]
    • /ˈtɜr dʒɪ vərˌseɪt/
    • /ˌtɜː.dʒɪ.və.ˈseɪʃ.n̩/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [tur-ji-ver-seyt]
    • /ˈtɜr dʒɪ vərˌseɪt/

Definitions of tergiversation word

  • verb without object tergiversation to change repeatedly one's attitude or opinions with respect to a cause, subject, etc.; equivocate. 1
  • verb without object tergiversation to turn renegade. 1
See all 2 definitions of tergiversation

Information block about the term

Origin of tergiversation

First appearance:

before 1645
One of the 44% oldest English words
1645-55; < Latin tergiversātus (past participle of tergiversārī to turn one's back), equivalent to tergi- (combining form of tergum back) + versātus, past participle of versāre, frequentative of vertere to turn; see -ate1

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Tergiversation

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Full grammatical hierarchy of Tergiversation

tergiversation popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 40% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.
According to our data most of word are more popular. This word is almost not used. It has a much more popular synonym.

tergiversation usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for tergiversation

noun tergiversation

  • ambiguity — If you say that there is ambiguity in something, you mean that it is unclear or confusing, or it can be understood in more than one way.
  • amphibology — ambiguity of expression, esp when due to a grammatical construction, as in save rags and waste paper
  • apostasy — If someone is accused of apostasy, they are accused of abandoning their religious faith, political loyalties, or principles.
  • castoff — thrown away; discarded; abandoned
  • cover up — If you cover something or someone up, you put something over them in order to protect or hide them.
All 26 Synonyms of tergiversation

See also

Matching words

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