tergiversation

English

WOTD – 16 December 2012    

Etymology

From Latin tergiversātiō.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /tɜːd͡ʒɪvəˈseɪʃən/
• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Noun

tergiversation (plural tergiversations)

1. 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.

2. The act of evading any clear course of action or speech, of being deliberately ambiguous; equivocation; fickleness.

Related terms

• tergiversate

Translations

act of abandoning, changing sides

• Finnish: takinkääntö (fi)

act of evading clear course

• Finnish: kiertely (fi), kaartelu (fi)

Anagrams

• interrogatives

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French

Etymology

From Latin tergiversātiō.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /tɛʀ.ʒi.vɛʁ.sa.sjɔ̃/, X-SAMPA: /tER.Zi.vER.sa.sjO~/

Noun

tergiversation f (plural tergiversations)

1. Delays in providing a clear answer caused by hesitations or an outright unwillingness to be forthright.

Usage notes

• Usage as a pluralia tantum rather than as a mass noun is more common.