palter

[ pawl-ter ]

/ ˈpɔl tər /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR palter ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

to talk or act insincerely or deceitfully; lie or use trickery.

to bargain with; haggle.

to act carelessly; trifle.

Words nearby palter

palsgravine, palsied, palstave, palsy, palsy-walsy, palter, paltrow, paltry, paludal, paludamentum, paludism

Origin of palter

1530–40 in sense “to speak indistinctly,” perhaps alteration of falter in same sense, with p- from palsy¹

OTHER WORDS FROM palter

pal·ter·er, noun

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

Examples from the Web for palter

Others might falter on the way; might palter with the truth; might parlay with the enemy.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 104, March 4, 1893|Various
We cannot palter; we cannot dissemble; we cannot shelter ourselves under half-truths, and make a covenant with lies.
All Saints' Day and Other Sermons|Charles Kingsley
She would face the truth and not palter with it, now that the crisis had really come.
Name and Fame|Adeline Sergeant
Aziel could no longer palter with himself, it was the truth.
Elissa|H. Rider Haggard

The honour of the school was in question, and he had no right to palter with that.
The Willoughby Captains|Talbot Baines Reed

British Dictionary definitions for palter

palter

/ (ˈpɔːltə) /

verb (intr)

to act or talk insincerely

to haggle

Derived forms of palter

palterer, noun

Word Origin for palter

C16: of unknown origin

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

palter

verb (used without object)

Words related to palter

Words nearby palter

Origin of palter

OTHER WORDS FROM palter

Examples from the Web for palter

British Dictionary definitions for palter

verb (intr)

Derived forms of palter

Word Origin for palter