equivocate

[ih-kwiv-uh-keyt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR equivocate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), e·quiv·o·cat·ed, e·quiv·o·cat·ing.

to use ambiguous or unclear expressions, usually to avoid commitment or in order to mislead; prevaricate or hedge: When asked directly for his position on disarmament, the candidate only equivocated.

Nearby words

Origin of equivocate

1375–1425; late Middle English < Medieval Latin aequivocātus, past participle of aequivocāre; see equivocal, -ate¹

SYNONYMS FOR equivocate

evade, stall, dodge.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR equivocate ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

e·quiv·o·cat·ing·ly, adverbe·quiv·o·ca·tor, nounnon·e·quiv·o·cat·ing, adjectiveout·e·quiv·o·cate, verb (used with object), out·e·quiv·o·cat·ed, out·e·quiv·o·cat·ing.

un·e·quiv·o·cat·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for equivocate

As Brookhiser fully appreciates—he does not equivocate or run from the truth—Lincoln was no radical, no abolitionist.
Lincoln Was the Founders’ Heir Apparent|Harvey J. Kaye|October 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But be sure you do not equivocate in the question of this girl.
Married Life|John Baldwin Buckstone
Lionel had high notions of duty as well as of honour, and he would not equivocate to his mother.
Verner's Pride|Mrs. Henry Wood
I could not equivocate with this woman, I could no more lie to her sorrow than to the Judgment.
The Crossing|Winston Churchill

I do not equivocate when I say that love is instinctive, and that the latter-day expression of love is artificial.
The Kempton-Wace Letters|Jack London
You must not equivocate, nor speak anything positively for which you have no authority but report, or conjecture, or opinion.
Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern, English and Foreign Sources|James Wood

British Dictionary definitions for equivocate

equivocate

verb

(intr) to use vague or ambiguous language, esp in order to avoid speaking directly or honestly; hedge

Derived Formsequivocatingly, adverbequivocator, nounequivocatory, adjective

Word Origin for equivocate

C15: from Medieval Latin aequivocāre, from Late Latin aequivocus ambiguous, equivocal

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

Word Origin and History for equivocate

equivocate

early 15c., equivocaten, from Medieval Latin equivocatus, past participle of equivocare "to call by the same name," from Late Latin aequivocus (see equivocation). Related: Equivocated; equivocating.