as in to weasel
to avoid giving a definite answer or position
the candidate equivocated as long as he could on controversial issues
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in ambiguity
deliberate evasion in speech
your equivocation when asked where you were last night is not reassuring
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ambiguousness
the quality or state of having a veiled or uncertain meaning
the equivocation of the last line of the poem, "That is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know"
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of equivocate
Jim Geraghty, Washington Post, 31 July 2024
Get Citation Request Reprint Permissions Play Download Article In February, as Russian tanks rolled across the Ukrainian border and Russian missiles rained down on Ukrainian cities, India equivocated.
—Shashi Tharoor, Foreign Affairs, 27 Apr. 2022
Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 11 May 2024
Inaction, tolerance, and equivocation leave space for hate, intimidation, and terror.
—Gil Mandelzis, Fortune, 4 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for equivocate 
Verb
Lots of politicians equivocate about U.S. alliances with dubious Middle Eastern allies.
—Jim Geraghty, Washington Post, 31 July 2024
Get Citation Request Reprint Permissions Play Download Article In February, as Russian tanks rolled across the Ukrainian border and Russian missiles rained down on Ukrainian cities, India equivocated.
—Shashi Tharoor, Foreign Affairs, 27 Apr. 2022
Noun
Garnish: There’s some equivocation among the online recipes on lemon vs. orange peel, perhaps because of the sweetness.
—Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 11 May 2024
Inaction, tolerance, and equivocation leave space for hate, intimidation, and terror.
—Gil Mandelzis, Fortune, 4 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for equivocate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for equivocate
Verb
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But when Douglas doesn’t invite her to the business dinner, the show suddenly takes a turn into wacky sitcom territory, with Maxine trying to weasel her way into Douglas’s business to meet and invite the Prince to the Beach Ball.Tom Smyth, Vulture, 10 Apr. 2024
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These weeds—the ones that do the impossible and weasel their way through cracks in the patio, concrete, pavers, and driveway—can be so difficult to remove since most weeding tools don’t fit in between the cracks.Stephanie Osmanski, Southern Living, 3 May 2024
Noun
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That also allows for some telling ambiguities: In a town that is fairly uniform in its comfortable whiteness, there’s little way to guess upfront where individuals may land on certain polarizing political issues.Guy Lodge, Variety, 19 Nov. 2024
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This can contribute to a sense of purpose and direction and help team members overcome inevitable hurdles and times of ambiguity.Jacob Kupietzky, Forbes, 6 Nov. 2024
Verb
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Over the next few years, a plague of disorder will descend upon America, and maybe the world, shaking everything loose.David Brooks, The Mercury News, 9 Nov. 2024
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Maybe that’s why World Cups end with the two teams shaking hands, one offering congratulations and the other condolences, and elections don’t.Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Critical but relatively small-dollar projects, such as street intersection adjustments that better serve pedestrians or bus riders, can get lost in the shuffle.David Zipper, Vox, 13 Nov. 2024
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The senior leadership shuffle continues at the Estée Lauder Cos. After it was revealed that both chief executive officer Fabrizio Freda and chief financial officer Tracey T. Travis plan to retire, another long-term leader at the company is following them.Kathryn Hopkins, WWD, 30 Sep. 2024
Noun
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Here, instead, she’s swayed by a dead Diana softly squeezing her hand and kindly hinting — the dead Diana is an ace at tactful circumlocution — that now is the time to show a mourning nation some emotion.Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 16 Nov. 2023
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By condensing Balzac’s opus to a few paragraphs, Barthelme was having a laugh not just at his predecessor’s genteel circumlocution—his tendency to describe buildings and manufacturing procedures and family trees in lavish detail—but also at the conventions of novelistic mimesis itself.Giles Harvey, The New York Review of Books, 23 Apr. 2020
Thesaurus Entries Near equivocate
Cite this Entry
“Equivocate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/equivocate. Accessed 24 Nov. 2024.
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