equivocate
verb (used without object)
to use ambiguous or unclear expressions, usually to avoid commitment or in order to mislead; prevaricate or hedge.
equivocated
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past participleof equivocate.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
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past tense formof equivocate.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
equivocateverb (used without object)to use ambiguous or unclear expressions, usually to avoid commitment or in order to mislead; prevaricate or hedge.
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.
But he has equivocated over how to get there, sometimes leaning into the threat of force, other times pushing the diplomacy.
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2025
Per the indictment, when Employee No. 4 equivocated, Nauta repeated the statement insistently and asked, without apparently subtlety, “What are we going to do?”
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2023
“If settled means that it can’t be re-examined, then that’s one thing,” Alito equivocated.
From Washington Post ● May 3, 2022
Clark, the company’s CEO, declined to comment on the case, but in a follow-up statement, the company equivocated, telling AP that under “certain conditions,” the system can actually pick up gunshots inside vehicles.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 18, 2021
"Oh, I hain't goin' but a little ways," lightly equivocated Mrs. Doggett, "jest yonside the covered bridge, and I guess I can hold Big Money to a walk, that fur."
From The Tobacco Tiller A Tale of the Kentucky Tobacco Fields by Sarah Bell Hackley
