equivocate

verb

equiv·o·cate i-ˈkwi-və-ˌkāt

equivocated; equivocating

Synonyms of equivocate next

intransitive verb

: to use equivocal language especially with intent to deceive

: to avoid committing oneself in what one says

equivocator

i-ˈkwi-və-ˌkā-tər

noun

Choose the Right Synonym for equivocate

lie, prevaricate, equivocate, palter, fib mean to tell an untruth.

lie is the blunt term, imputing dishonesty.

lied about where he had been

prevaricate softens the bluntness of lie by implying quibbling or confusing the issue.

during the hearings the witness did his best to prevaricate

equivocate implies using words having more than one sense so as to seem to say one thing but intend another.

equivocated endlessly in an attempt to mislead her inquisitors

palter implies making unreliable statements of fact or intention or insincere promises.

a swindler paltering with his investors

fib applies to a telling of a trivial untruth.

fibbed about the price of the new suit

Examples of equivocate in a Sentence

The applicant seemed to be equivocating when we asked him about his last job. When asked about her tax plan, the candidate didn't equivocate.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

There was a lot of miscommunication and mistrust between critical players in the opposition and Maduro’s equivocating supporters. —

Zach Dorfman, WIRED, 31 Oct. 2024 Vance attempted to equivocate the false claims from Trump in the wake of the election that led to the Jan. 6 Insurrection, with Democrats pointing to Russian disinformation campaigns that showed up on Facebook in the 2016 election. —

James Powel, USA TODAY, 2 Oct. 2024 There was no pretense about her, no slickness, no political glad-handing or equivocating, just a woman who knew the value of her work and the quality of her project and was crystal clear on how it should be done. —

Carly Tagen-Dye, Peoplemag, 9 Sep. 2024 Told unequivocally that the atmosphere at Columbia was hostile, Shafik equivocated — until the anarchy escalated to the point that the university had no choice but to call in the NYPD. —

The Editors, National Review, 16 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for equivocate