equivocate
Avoid a straight answer
To equivocate is to use ambiguous or evasive language, typically to avoid committing to a position or to mislead without outright lying.
Politicians equivocate when they want to seem responsive without actually answering a question.
When asked about his plans, he equivocated rather than give a straight answer.
The related noun equivocation and adjective equivocal share this sense of deliberate vagueness or double meaning.
Speak misleadingly to deceive
- hedgeBoundary of planted shrubs
- waffleGridded breakfast cake
- dodgeAvoid by quick movement
- sidestepEvade by moving aside
skirt · fudge · pussyfoot · beat around the bush · stonewall · deflect · evade · temporize
Unclear, ill-defined
- unclearNot easily understood
- nebulousUnclear and formless
- murkyDark and unclear
- crypticObscure in meaning
opaque · obscure · indistinct · fuzzy · imprecise · double-talk · doublespeak · weasel words
Cause false belief
- deceiveCause false belief
- dissembleConceal one's motives
- misrepresentDepict inaccurately or falsely
- distortTwist from original form
sophistry · duplicity · disingenuous · two-faced · double-dealing · feign · falsify · fabricate
Waver between choices
- waverHesitate or fluctuate
- ditherNervous inability to choose
- oscillateMove rhythmically between extremes
- fluctuateVary irregularly over time
flip-flop · shilly-shally · hem and haw · fence-sit · wishy-washy · uncommitted · irresolute · uncertain
prevaricate
Speak misleadingly to deceive
sidestep · skirt · fudge · pussyfoot · beat around the bush · stonewall · deflect · evade · temporize · stall
vague
Unclear, ill-defined
cryptic · opaque · obscure · indistinct · fuzzy · imprecise · double-talk · doublespeak · weasel words · mealy-mouthed
mislead
Cause false belief
- deceiveCause false belief
- dissembleConceal one's motives
- misrepresentDepict inaccurately or falsely
distort · sophistry · duplicity · disingenuous · two-faced · double-dealing · feign · falsify · fabricate · dissimulate
vacillate
Waver between choices
- waverHesitate or fluctuate
- ditherNervous inability to choose
- oscillateMove rhythmically between extremes
fluctuate · flip-flop · shilly-shally · hem and haw · fence-sit · wishy-washy · uncommitted · irresolute · uncertain · hesitate
- Avoiding Answersdodge, evade, deflect, sidestep, evasive
- evasionevasion, avoiding, avoids, evade, dodging
- reversalsreverse, undo, revert, overturn, flip
- stallingstall, stalling, delay, hesitate, procrastinate
- euphemistictactful, polite, mild, delicate, indirect
- sugarcoatingsweeten, soften, gloss over, whitewash, soft-pedal
equivocatespeak plainly
tell it like it is · lay it on the line · cut to the chase · speak clearly · pull no punches
equivocatebe honest
Speak without deception
come clean · tell the truth · commit · declare · assert
equivocal, unequivocal, equivocation, unequivocally, equivocating, equivocalness, equivocator, equivocally, equivocality