as in pretending
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as in weaseling
to avoid giving a definite answer or position
the candidate equivocated as long as he could on controversial issues
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of equivocating
Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 13 Jan. 2026
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
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
Adjective
-
There can be no more pretending, briefing or hiding.—
Harry De Cosemo,
Forbes.com,
20 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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People are fixating on celebrities of all kinds, accusing singers of body-positive anthems of being hypocritical, rolling their eyes at athletes promoting weight loss drugs and whispering about the thinness of their favorite movie stars.—
Sara Moniuszko,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
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Yet, the sense of cognitive dissonance that pervades this space can feel blindingly hypocritical.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
27 May 2026
Verb
-
With Arena Monterrey shaking, El Grande II hit a flying clothesline for a nearfall.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
-
YouTubers in their 20s are shaking things up in Hollywood.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
31 May 2026
Adjective
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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
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Also on the call sheet is Kathryn Hahn, hailed for her recent works in Agatha All Along and The Studio, and who is playing the duplicitous Mother Gothel.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
1 May 2026
Verb
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Nothing kills momentum faster than waffling on a big decision.—
Rolling Stone Culture Council,
Rolling Stone,
23 Feb. 2026
-
Patricia Serio is waffling between Saint Xavier and Judson University to finish her degree.—
Olivia Stevens,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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But somewhere between legal automation and insincere executive empathy is the place where actual human communication still exists.—
Alexander Puutio,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
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Sybiha said Russia’s actions exposed its calls for a separate ceasefire around May 9 as insincere.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 May 2026
Adjective
-
Not every calm response is evasive.—
Benjamin Laker,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
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Ukrainian pilots have also adopted evasive actions at extremely low altitudes.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
25 May 2026
Adjective
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There is evidence that this tendency, known as the endowment effect, was favored by natural selection when bargains were risky in a pre-modern world, a time when giving over one item, in trade for another, might risk getting nothing at all from an untrustworthy trading partner.—
Owen D. Jones,
The Conversation,
26 May 2026
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The plaintiff’s counsel repeatedly questioned Altman’s character, accusing him of being untrustworthy, and of routinely lying.—
Ashley Capoot,Lora Kolodny,
CNBC,
19 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Equivocating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/equivocating. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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