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Webster 1913 Edition
Tergiversation
Terˊgi-ver-sa′tion
,Noun.
[L.
tergiversario
: cf. F. tergiversation
.] 1.
The act of tergiversating; a shifting; shift; subterfuge; evasion.
Writing is to be preferred before verbal conferences, as being freer from passions and
tergiversations
. Abp. Bramhall.
2.
Fickleness of conduct; inconstancy; change.
The colonel, after all his
tergiversations
, lost his life in the king’s service. Clarendon.
Webster 1828 Edition
Tergiversation
TERGIVERSA'TION
,Noun.
Writing is to be preferred before verbal conferences, as being more free from passion and tergiversation.
1.
Change; fickleness of conduct. The colonel, after all his tergiversation, lost his life in the king's service.
Definition 2024
tergiversation
tergiversation
English
Noun
tergiversation (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.
Related terms
Translations
act of abandoning, changing sides
|
Anagrams
French
Etymology
From Latin tergiversātiō.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /tɛʁ.ʒi.vɛʁ.sa.sjɔ̃/
Noun
tergiversation f (plural tergiversations)
- 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.