Tergiversate (verb)
tur-jiv-urs-ayt
Make conflicting or evasive statements; equivocate.
Mid 17th century: from Latin tergiversat- ‘with one’s back turned’, from the verb tergiversari, from tergum ‘back’ + vertere ‘to turn’.
Example sentences
“The more he’d tergiversate, the clearer it became to the press he didn’t belong on the podium.”
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