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Equivocate   /ɪkwˈɪvəkˌeɪt/   Listen
verb
Equivocate  v. t.  To render equivocal or ambiguous. "He equivocated his vow by a mental reservation."



Equivocate  v. i.  (past & past part. equivocated; pres. part. equivocating)  To use words of equivocal or doubtful signification; to express one's opinions in terms which admit of different senses, with intent to deceive; to use ambiguous expressions with a view to mislead; as, to equivocate is the work of duplicity. "All that Garnet had to say for him was that he supposed he meant to equivocate."
Synonyms: To prevaricate; evade; shuffle; quibble. See Prevaricate.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Equivocate" Quotes from Famous Books



... question, put with the most gentle courtesy, but yet in a straightforward manner; and if Ashton had wished in any way to equivocate, he felt he could not do so without utterly destroying his chances of employment. To do him justice, however, let us state he never, even for a moment, entertained a thought of so doing. He felt he was being weighed in the balance, and would probably be found wanting, but ...
— From Wealth to Poverty • Austin Potter

... are, after all, a kind of lying,—faint lies or awkward lies, but still lies; and some of these disputants infer, that therefore we must not equivocate, and others that equivocation is but a half-measure, and that it is better to say at once that in certain cases ...
— Apologia Pro Vita Sua • John Henry Cardinal Newman

... non [Lat.]; catch, string, strings attached; exemption; exception, escape clause, salvo, saving clause; discount &c 813; restriction; fine print. V. qualify, limit, modify, leaven, give a color to, introduce new conditions, narrow, temper. waffle, quibble, hem and haw (be uncertain) 475; equivocate (sophistry) 477. depend, depend on, be contingent on (effect) 154. allow for, make allowance for; admit exceptions, take into account; modulate. moderate, temper, season, leaven. take exception. ...
— Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases: Body • Roget

... eh, darling! You want to see the other side of the mountain." He pressed her to him lovingly. "Of course" (with masculine inconsistency Bob was beginning to equivocate) "I may not be able to sell my water-right and the enemy may elect to play a waiting game and starve me out. In that case, it would not be fair to you to burden you with a husband whose sole assets are his dreams and ...
— The Long Chance • Peter B. Kyne

... started the "Liberator." Read the declaration of this poor young man with "no chance," in the very first issue: "I will be as harsh as truth, as uncompromising as justice. I am in earnest. I will not equivocate, I will not excuse; I will not retreat a single inch, and I will be heard." What audacity for a young man, with the ...
— Pushing to the Front • Orison Swett Marden


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