Definition

1. Verb:
   • To abandon one's beliefs, principles, or allegiances, especially in a way that is seen as deceitful or treacherous.
   • To be deliberately evasive, ambiguous, or unclear in speech or argument, especially in order to mislead, avoid commitment, or withhold information.

Examples of Usage

• Verb:
  • The politician was accused of tergiversating when he suddenly reversed his position on the tax bill after the election.
  • Under intense questioning, the witness began to tergiversate, giving vague and contradictory answers.
  • Historians note that he tergiversated from his original political party, joining the opposition for personal gain.

Advanced Usage

• "to tergiversate on an issue": to be evasive or non-committal about a specific topic.
  • The CEO continued to tergiversate on the issue of employee layoffs, refusing to give a direct answer.
• Used in formal or academic contexts to describe intellectual dishonesty or political betrayal.

Variants and Related Words

• Tergiversation (n): The act of tergiversating; evasion or desertion.
  • His speech was a masterpiece of tergiversation, full of equivocal statements.
• Tergiversator (n): A person who tergiversates.
  • The journalist labeled the official a notorious tergiversator.

Synonyms

• Equivocate: To use ambiguous language to conceal the truth.
• Prevaricate: To speak or act in an evasive way.
• Renounce: To formally abandon a belief or claim (specifically for the "abandon beliefs" sense).
• Defect: To desert a cause, party, or nation.

Antonyms

• Affirm: To state something as true firmly and publicly.
• Declare: To announce something clearly and openly.
• Adhere: To remain faithful to a belief, principle, or party.

Related Phrases

• "To hedge one's bets": To avoid committing oneself, similar to the evasive sense of tergiversate, but less formal and not implying betrayal.
• "To turn one's coat": To desert one's party or principles (idiom similar to the "abandon allegiance" sense).

Verb

1. abandon one's beliefs or allegiances
2. be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information