tergiversate
/ˈtəːdʒɪvəˌseɪt
/ /təːdʒɪˈvəːseɪt/verb [no object]
1Make conflicting or evasive statements; equivocate: the more she tergiversated, the greater grew the ardency of the reporters for an interview...
- The thought of tergiversating crossed his mind several times but like a true soldier he continued with the War, against the enemy and against himself.
2Change one’s loyalties; abandon a belief or principle.
Derivatives
tergiversation
/ noun ...- A small, red-headed, squinting man, Clarendon described him as of ‘extraordinary cunning’, though in the end his contorted tergiversations overwhelmed him.
- You may call it tergiversation, but we pros call it diplomacy.
- The Treasury displayed the utmost determination, ingenuity, tergiversation and meanness of spirit in trying to cut his fees.
tergiversator
- And partly because, speaking as a natural tergiversator until the last moment, human development can be very quick in a high-conflict or high-pressure situation, much quicker than normal.
- But then he made another statement that is worth reviewing in full, because it reflects a matter that has largely been elided by some tergiversators who have chosen to spin this whole matter.
Origin
Mid 17th century: from Latin tergiversat- 'with one's back turned', from the verb tergiversari, from tergum 'back' + vertere 'to turn'.