tergiversate
verb (formal)Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they tergiversate | |
he / she / it tergiversates | |
past simple tergiversated | |
past participle tergiversated | |
-ing form tergiversating |
- [intransitive]
to make statements that deliberately hide the truth or that avoid answering a question directly (说话)含糊其词,支吾,回避事实 - [intransitive]
to remove your support from one person, group, or religion and begin to support another 改变立场;背叛;变节
Word Originmid 17th cent.: from Latin tergiversat- ‘with one's back turned’, from the verb tergiversari, from tergum ‘back’ + vertere ‘to turn’.