equivocation

noun

equiv·​o·​ca·​tion i-ˌkwi-və-ˈkā-shən 

plural equivocations

: deliberate evasiveness in wording : the use of ambiguous or equivocal language

Like any good teacher, he does his best to answer with clarity and minimal equivocation.

—Eric Bugyis

Let me say now without equivocation or need for reflection: Devils tower is the most amazing sight of my entire trip.

—Mel White

: an ambiguous or deliberately evasive statement

His answers were filled with evasions and equivocations.

Increasingly, the inaccuracies, the elisions, and the equivocations were viewed as deliberate acts of subversion, efforts to assert some control over the past instead of simply recording it.

—Benjamin Soskis

Synonyms

• circumlocution
• shuffle
• tergiversation

Examples of equivocation in a Sentence

your equivocation when asked where you were last night is not reassuring

the equivocation of the last line of the poem, "That is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know"

Recent Examples on the Web

Now is not the time for equivocation or delay. —Dr. Josh Green, CNN Money, 5 Apr. 2025

There is no equivocation about whether or not Jamie killed Katie. —Paul Tassi, Forbes, 19 Mar. 2025

Your moral equivocation about a deliberate hit to the head is offensive. —Daniel Nugent-Bowman, The Athletic, 19 Jan. 2025

This moral equivocation has sent a signal of impunity to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who now openly threatens Armenia's sovereignty. —John Mac Ghlionn, Newsweek, 14 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1609, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for equivocation

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration