equivocation

[ ih-kwiv-uh-key-shuhn ]
See synonyms for equivocation on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the use of equivocal or ambiguous expressions, especially in order to mislead or hedge; prevarication.

  2. an equivocal, ambiguous expression; equivoque: The speech was marked by elaborate equivocations.

  1. Logic. a fallacy caused by the double meaning of a word.

Origin of equivocation

1
1350–1400; Middle English equivocacion<Late Latin aequivocātiōn- (stem of aequivocātiō). See equivocate, -ion

Words Nearby equivocation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use equivocation in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for equivocation

equivocation

/ (ɪˌkwɪvəˈkeɪʃən) /


noun
  1. the act or an instance of equivocating

  2. logic a fallacy based on the use of the same term in different senses, esp as the middle term of a syllogism, as the badger lives in the bank, and the bank is in the High Street, so the badger lives in the High Street

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012