WORD OF THE DAY
Use the verb tergiversate when you need a fancy way to describe someone who's beating around the bush, or being deliberately unclear.
A politician who really doesn't want to answer a reporter's question is likely to tergiversate, or talk and talk without ever taking a definitive stand. Your relatives may even tergiversate at holiday gatherings when uncomfortable topics come up. The Latin root word, tergiversari, literally means "to turn one's back," or more figuratively, "to be evasive."
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Vocabulary lists containing tergiversate
Take our word for it, the English language has many ways to describe things that might, or might not, be. For more synonym lists, explore our Say What You Mean resources.
Ten-year-old Dottie Bing has more questions and animals clawing at her when Grandpa Walter unexpectedly arrives with a Chock full o'Nuts can.
Learn this list of synonyms for waver.
