What does tergiversate mean?
Tergiversate means to evade, dodge, or avoid a direct answer, especially when confronted with an obligation, an issue, or a difficult question. It is often used for people who speak ambiguously or refuse to commit themselves, as when a spokesperson tergiversates about a scandal or a committee tergiversates over an investigation. The word has a formal and somewhat literary tone, and its negative connotation is stronger than that of neutral alternatives such as answer. It also has an older sense involving retreat from a cause, desertion, or a change of allegiance. Although less common in everyday speech, tergiversate is useful when precision matters because it can capture both deliberate evasion and the suggestion that someone has turned away from a previously declared position. Its Latin roots evoke turning aside or turning one's back, making it especially effective for describing political and institutional retreat.
verbTo evade or avoid a commitment, obligation, or direct answer, especially by equivocating. Historically, the word also meant to go back on one's principles or change allegiance.
- To evade or avoid a commitment, obligation, issue, or direct answer through equivocation.
- To go back on one's principles, change allegiance, or desert a cause.
"When pressed about the missing funds, the committee tergiversated for several days before admitting that it had not investigated."
"Instead of explaining the policy, the minister tergiversated and blamed unnamed advisers."
"Several party members tergiversated after the leadership reversed its position."
Tergiversate is a high-register escape hatch for those who would rather turn back than answer straight.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does tergiversate come from?
The word entered English from Latin tergiversari, meaning “to turn aside” or “evade,” a development associated with tergum, “back,” and vertere, “to turn.” Its early English use included the sense of turning back or abandoning a position, while the modern sense emphasizes evasion and equivocation. Related English words such as avert, diverse, versatile, and reverse continue the wider Latin tradition of vertere and its compounds.
Related word forms
How tergiversate is actually used
This is a formal, literary, and relatively uncommon word. It normally has a negative connotation, suggesting evasion, evasiveness, or abandonment of a stated position.
Easily confused with tergiversate
Both words can mean to avoid a direct answer, but prevaricate focuses specifically on making misleading or deceptive statements, whereas tergiversate more broadly denotes evasion or avoidance and can also describe abandoning a position or allegiance.