equivocating
Deliberately staying vague
Equivocating is speaking in deliberately vague or ambiguous terms to avoid committing to a position.
Someone who equivocates uses slippery language that could be interpreted multiple ways, often to evade direct questions or escape accountability: The witness kept equivocating about what he saw that night.
Politicians are frequently accused of equivocating when they want to please opposing constituencies.
Noncommittal maneuvering
- sidesteppingMoving aside to avoid
- dodgingAvoiding by moving aside
- wafflingEvasive, indecisive speech
- fudgingManipulating facts dishonestly
skirting · deflecting · stalling · parrying · demurring · noncommittal · fence-sitting · stonewalling
Deliberate concealment through confusion
- circumlocutionIndirect, wordy expression
- sophistryDeceptive reasoning
- casuistryApplying principles to particulars
- doublespeakDeliberately misleading language
weasel words · spin · doubletalk · gobbledygook · euphemism · mealy-mouthed · quibbling · hair-splitting
Avoiding direct honesty
- dissemblingConcealing true motives
- misleadingCausing false beliefs
- deceivingCausing false belief
- palteringMisleading via partial truths
duplicity · insincerity · lying · fibbing · double-dealing · two-faced · disingenuous · mendacious
Absence of precision
- unclearNot easily understood
- indefiniteNot precisely determined
- nebulousUnclear and formless
- murkyDark and unclear
fuzzy · indistinct · ambivalent · open-ended · cryptic · opaque · obscuring · clouding
hedging
Noncommittal maneuvering
- sidesteppingMoving aside to avoid
- dodgingAvoiding by moving aside
- wafflingEvasive, indecisive speech
fudging · skirting · deflecting · stalling · parrying · demurring · noncommittal · fence-sitting · stonewalling · dancing around
obfuscation
Deliberate concealment through confusion
- circumlocutionIndirect, wordy expression
- sophistryDeceptive reasoning
- casuistryApplying principles to particulars
doublespeak · weasel words · spin · doubletalk · gobbledygook · euphemism · mealy-mouthed · quibbling · hair-splitting · legalistic
prevaricating
Avoiding direct honesty
- dissemblingConcealing true motives
- misleadingCausing false beliefs
- deceivingCausing false belief
paltering · duplicity · insincerity · lying · fibbing · double-dealing · two-faced · disingenuous · mendacious · untruthful
vagueness
Absence of precision
- unclearNot easily understood
- indefiniteNot precisely determined
- nebulousUnclear and formless
murky · fuzzy · indistinct · ambivalent · open-ended · cryptic · opaque · obscuring · clouding · muddying
equivocatingforthright
Directly honest in manner
unequivocal · blunt · unambiguous · straightforward · plain-spoken
equivocatinghonest
Free from deception
truthful · forthcoming · transparent · frank · sincere
equivocatingconfronting
Addressing directly
facing · owning up · acknowledging · admitting · coming clean