tergiversate
verb (used without object)
to change repeatedly one's attitude or opinions with respect to a cause, subject, etc.; equivocate.
tergiversation
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a word derived from
tergiversate.
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.
Another has been the behavior of its distinguished columnists-the lamentation of Mark Sullivan, the oscillation of Dorothy Thompson, the tergiversation of Walter Lippmann.
From Time Magazine Archive
It was not true, though it made Ferdinand very cordial for a time, and soon the relations between England and Spain resumed their usual course of smooth-tongued distrust and tergiversation.
From The Wives of Henry the Eighth and the Parts They Played in History by Martin Andrew Sharp Hume
The Times, while it appears to lead, in reality waits upon public opinion, and hence the accusations of inconsistency and tergiversation so freely lavished upon it.
From The Continental Monthly, Vol. 6, No 2, August, 1864 Devoted to Literature and National Policy by Various
Raging with indignation at what he conceived to be the tergiversation of his leader and the treachery to his hero, Bland-Burges once again forced himself upon the attention of the House.
From A History of the Four Georges and of William IV, Volume III by Justin McCarthy
Vincent St. George, disgusted at such gross tergiversation, flies entirely away from the point at issue, and applies those remarks to Julie which all disappointed lovers seem to be bound to utter in such cases.
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 1, November 6, 1841, by Various
