non-answers

Replies without substance

Non-answers are responses that fail to address what was actually asked.

Politicians give non-answers when they pivot to talking points instead of engaging with questions.

Someone might offer a non-answer to avoid commitment: When I asked if she was coming to the party, all I got was a non-answer about how busy she's been.

The term implies evasion or deflection rather than honest uncertainty.

interrogation

silence

Total lack of sound

denialRefusal to accept reality
lawyerLicensed legal representative
refusalAct of declining

uncooperative · testimony · deposition · cross-examination · evasive · withholding · stonewalling · subpoena · contempt · immunity

evasion

deflection

Change in trajectory

avoidanceDeliberate keeping away
dodgingAvoiding by moving aside
sidesteppingMoving aside to avoid

obfuscation · misdirection · stonewalling · equivocation · circumvention · vagueness · runaround · filibuster · hedging · pivoting

political

talking-points

Scripted positions for interviews

soundbitesBrief broadcast excerpts
platitudesTrite moral remarks
rhetoricArt of persuasive language

spin · press-conference · spokesperson · scripted · on-message · canned · boilerplate · diplomatic · filibuster · congressional

survey

incomplete

Lacking necessary parts

skippedWent past without stopping
blankWithout marks or content
invalidWithout legal force

declined · opt-out · dropout · attrition · partial · spoiled · unusable · null · abstention · nonparticipation

non-answers

silence

deflection

talking-points

incomplete

non-answers

Categories

Family