Meanings
plural tergiversations
- countableuncountableThe act of abandoning something or someone, of changing sides; desertion; betrayal.
They make their outward impudence their mask, as foxes, the better we may not see where they truly tend, nor their true black tergiversation beneath.
1985, John Fowles, A MaggotSynonyms: perfidy, prodition, betrayal, breach of promise, breach of trust, double-dealing, Judas kiss, perfidiousness
- countableuncountableThe act of evading any clear course of action or speech, of being deliberately ambiguous; equivocation; fickleness.
Anyone who desires an hour's amusement may be advised to look up the tergiversations of eminent craniologists in their attempts to prove from brain measurements that women are stupider than men.
1931, Bertrand Russell, The Scientific Outlook
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe act of abandoning something or someone, of changing sides; desertion; betrayal.
More synonyms by meaning
nounfalsification by means of vague or ambiguous language
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latintergiversātiō
- Englishtergiversation
From Latin tergiversātiō, from tergiversārī (“to turn one's back, to evade, to avoid”) + -tiō (“-tion: forming abstract nouns”). Equivalent to tergiversate + -ion.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian отстъпничество, увъртане
- отстъпничество (otstăpničestvo)act of abandoning, changing sides
- увъртане (uvărtane)act of evading clear course
Finnish takinkääntö, kiertely
- takinkääntöact of abandoning, changing sides
- kiertelyact of evading clear course
- kaarteluact of evading clear course
Portuguese tergiversação
- tergiversaçãoact of evading clear course
Romanian tergiversare
- tergiversareact of evading clear course
Spanish tergiversación
- tergiversaciónact of evading clear course
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with tergiversation
Cite this entry
tergiversation. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tergiversation
“tergiversation.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tergiversation. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tergiversation,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tergiversation.
Source: tergiversation on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.