as in pretending
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
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
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
Verb
-
People gathered near the site to get a front row seat to the ground-shaking event.—
Abigail Dollins,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
6 June 2026
-
Then, during one family movie night in November 2020, her husband noticed her arm was shaking.—
Kerry Breen,
CBS News,
6 June 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
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
Verb
-
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
-
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
-
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
Adjective
-
Everyone else was various degrees of insincere or arch.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
4 June 2026
-
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
Adjective
-
But even the comms team seemed evasive.—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
4 June 2026
-
Political savvy should make a leader more candid, not more evasive.—
Harrison Monarth,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
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 13 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
