palter
Americanverb (used without object)
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to talk or act insincerely or deceitfully; lie or use trickery.
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to bargain with; haggle.
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to act carelessly; trifle.
verb
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to act or talk insincerely
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to haggle
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of palter
1530–40 in sense “to speak indistinctly,” perhaps alteration of falter in same sense, with p- from palsy 1
Explanation
To palter is to beat around the bush by speaking or writing in an unclear way. People palter to confuse others. Palter is an unusual word for a common thing: speaking or writing in a way that bamboozles others. Politicians are paltering experts: they palter when they leave out important information or use euphemisms to confuse voters. Paltering can be vague, distracting, or misleading. People palter when they have something to hide or just don't want to discuss. Paltering isn't outright lying, but it's close. The opposite of paltering is being straightforward, clear, and honest.
Vocabulary lists containing palter
The Tragedy of Macbeth
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"What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" by Frederick Douglass
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"The Tragedy of Macbeth," Vocabulary from Act 5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"They wanted to hear my perspective on the company. And they wanted to bend my ear with their own thoughts," said Palter, co-founder of EdgeStone Capital Partners in Toronto.
From Reuters • Nov. 8, 2015
The ladies wrapped their pretty shoulders in furs, danced in Palter DeLiso slippers, got their divorces in Paris.
From Time Magazine Archive
"Palter with us in a double sense" is the famous expression in Macbeth, V, viii, 20, and it brings out clearly the meaning implicit in the term.
From The New Hudson Shakespeare: Julius Cæsar by Black, Ebenezer Charlton
"Palter not with me, Sir Scot—it were ill for thy safety," said the irritable monarch.
From The Talisman by Scott, Walter, Sir
Palter, pawl′tėr, v.i. to trifle in talk: to use trickery: to dodge: to shuffle: to equivocate.—n.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
