equivocating 1 of 2

adjective

as in pretending

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equivocating

2 of 2

verb

present participle of equivocate
as in weaseling
to avoid giving a definite answer or position the candidate equivocated as long as he could on controversial issues

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of equivocating
Adjective
Yet Hiller’s latest equivocating mea culpa, with the now-familiar language of hardship and defeatism so unbecoming of a professional hockey team, rang unconvincing. — Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 13 Jan. 2026
Verb
This was after much pressing and equivocating, number one. — CBS News, 29 Mar. 2026 But the judge’s equivocating ruling in that piracy case created a loophole, according to Anthropic’s lawyers. — James Folta, Literary Hub, 6 Feb. 2026 While Abigail Spanberger stood with her running mate Jay Jones and his murderous fantasies, and evaded every direct question including equivocating over men being in locker rooms with girls. — Mabinty Quarshie, The Washington Examiner, 11 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for equivocating
  1. pretending
  2. shaking
  3. hypocritical
  4. waffling
  5. duplicitous
  6. insincere
  7. evasive
  8. untrustworthy
Adjective
  • There can be no more pretending, briefing or hiding.
    — Harry De Cosemo, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
Definition of pretending
Verb
  • Structure information summary Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are highly resistant to earthquake shaking, though some vulnerable structures exist.
    — CA Earthquake Bot, Sacbee.com, 11 July 2026
  • Honestly, some of these systems still leave me shaking my head.
    — Demetri Giannikopoulos, Forbes.com, 11 July 2026
Definition of shaking
Adjective
  • Or means that any comments are supposedly hypocritical.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 23 June 2026
  • Earlier this month, Matsui’s campaign came after Vang for taking corporate donations from Sacramento-area businesses during her city council campaigns, implying that Vang’s vows to not accept money from corporate PACs in her congressional bid is hypocritical.
    — Mathew Miranda June 4, Sacbee.com, 4 June 2026
Definition of hypocritical
Verb
  • The tournament’s special status — its unwillingness to place any person above the sport — is part of why Williams wanted to play singles, not just doubles with her sister Venus, after waffling on the decision.
    — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 30 June 2026
  • Nothing kills momentum faster than waffling on a big decision.
    — Rolling Stone Culture Council, Rolling Stone, 23 Feb. 2026
Definition of waffling
Adjective
  • Infiltrate a swanky New York law firm that may be duplicitous in the opioid crisis, an epidemic that also happens to have taken the life of her daughter.
    — Whitney Friedlander, Variety, 14 June 2026
  • The takeaway, then, isn’t that students are duplicitous and depraved or that technology has eroded their moral core.
    — Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 19 May 2026
Definition of duplicitous
Adjective
  • Not everyone believes, however, that the line is insincere.
    — Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 24 June 2026
  • And so, open door policies rarely fail because leaders are insincere.
    — Benjamin Laker, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026
Definition of insincere
Adjective
  • Today’s astro-weather encourages us to be emotionally intelligent without being evasive.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 8 July 2026
  • In ever-busier Lisbon, where the term off-season has lost all meaning, a relaxed pace of life can be frustratingly evasive.
    — Adam Erace, Travel + Leisure, 7 July 2026
Definition of evasive
Adjective
  • Indeed, El Niño’s complexity limited the researchers’ simulations to two years; beyond that, the model becomes untrustworthy.
    — Cody Cottier, Scientific American, 8 July 2026
  • The local gendarmerie, led by blandly untrustworthy Inspector Marchal (Bertrand Belin) is called in to investigate.
    — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 16 June 2026
Definition of untrustworthy

Browse Nearby Words

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Cite this Entry

“Equivocating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/equivocating. Accessed 17 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on equivocating

Nglish: Translation of equivocating for Spanish Speakers

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