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.
-
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.
You can equivocate, or dissemble, or palter, or mislead, or prevaricate, or fib, or perjure.
From Washington Post ● May 3, 2021
"And if you don't abide by those, then there's no reason you would ever need to palter, because you could just say whatever you want."
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 6, 2017
"And if you don’t abide by those, then there’s no reason you would ever need to palter, because you could just say whatever you want."
From Washington Post ● Dec. 29, 2016
She would face the truth and not palter with it, now that the crisis had really come.
From Name and Fame A Novel by Sergeant, Adeline
Why do you dream and palter and stay, When every dawn, that rushes up the bay, Brings nearer, and more near, The Terror, the Discomforter, whose prey, p. 27Belovèd, we must be?
From Hawthorn and Lavender with Other Verses by Henley, William Ernest
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.
