nonanswers
Replies without substance
Nonanswers are responses that fail to address what was actually asked.
Politicians give nonanswers when they pivot to talking points rather than engaging the question: The interviewer pressed again, frustrated by a string of nonanswers.
A nonanswer may be evasive, irrelevant, or simply miss the point.
Deliberately misleading language
- gibberishUnintelligible speech or writing
- jargonSpecialized professional vocabulary
- sophistryDeceptive reasoning
- smokescreenConcealment through misdirection
circumlocution · gobbledygook · word salad · doubletalk · bureaucratese · legalese · technobabble · mumbo jumbo
Avoiding by moving aside
- sidesteppingMoving aside to avoid
- deflectingTurning from original path
- avoidingDeliberately staying clear
- deflectionChange in trajectory
circumvention · hedging · equivocating · fudging · prevaricating · stonewalling · noncommittal · parrying
Openness to multiple interpretations
- vaguenessAbsence of precision
- nonspecificNot clearly defined
- generalitiesNonspecific broad statements
- platitudesTrite moral remarks
truisms · boilerplate · clichés · meaningless · hollow · noncommittal · wishy-washy · fence-sitting
Lines meeting curves once
- digressionsDepartures from main subject
- red herringsMisleading clues or information
- misdirectionsActs of guiding wrongly
- distractionsThings disrupting concentration
diversions · sidetracks · off-topic · beside the point · non sequiturs · changing the subject · deflections · wild goose chases
doublespeak
Deliberately misleading language
- gibberishUnintelligible speech or writing
- jargonSpecialized professional vocabulary
- sophistryDeceptive reasoning
smokescreen · circumlocution · gobbledygook · word salad · doubletalk · bureaucratese · legalese · technobabble · mumbo jumbo · verbosity
dodging
Avoiding by moving aside
- sidesteppingMoving aside to avoid
- deflectingTurning from original path
- avoidingDeliberately staying clear
deflection · circumvention · hedging · equivocating · fudging · prevaricating · stonewalling · noncommittal · parrying · ducking
ambiguity
Openness to multiple interpretations
- vaguenessAbsence of precision
- nonspecificNot clearly defined
- generalitiesNonspecific broad statements
platitudes · truisms · boilerplate · clichés · meaningless · hollow · noncommittal · wishy-washy · fence-sitting · neither here nor there
tangents
Lines meeting curves once
- digressionsDepartures from main subject
- red herringsMisleading clues or information
- misdirectionsActs of guiding wrongly
distractions · diversions · sidetracks · off-topic · beside the point · non sequiturs · changing the subject · deflections · wild goose chases · missing the point
nonanswersfull disclosure
Withholding no information
revelations · confessions · admissions · candor · openness