palters
Talks around truth
To palter is to act or speak insincerely, typically by being evasive or equivocating rather than lying outright.
Someone who palters misleads through technically true statements that create false impressions, or haggles in a petty, insincere way.
The witness paltered with the committee, never quite lying but never telling the whole truth either.
The word suggests a slippery dishonesty that avoids direct falsehood while still deceiving.
Ambiguous language avoiding commitment
- prevaricationMisleading speech avoiding directness
- deceitDeliberate misleading of others
- duplicityDeliberate misleading behavior
- guileSly, strategic dishonesty
trickery · dissembling · falsification · misrepresentation · mendacity · disingenuousness · insincerity · untruthfulness
Noncommittal maneuvering
- dodgingAvoiding by moving aside
- sidesteppingMoving aside to avoid
- deflectingTurning from original path
- wafflingEvasive, indecisive speech
fudging · circumlocution · obfuscation · vagueness · ambiguity · noncommittal · fence-sitting · avoidance
Failure to include
- selectiveChoosing with care
- partialFavoring one side
- incompleteLacking necessary parts
- misleadingCausing false beliefs
distortion · spin · slanting · shading · coloring · twisting · skewing · cherry-picking
Causing false beliefs
- deceivingCausing false belief
- beguilingCharmingly deceptive
- hoodwinkingDeliberately misleading someone
- bamboozlingDeceiving through confusion
duping · snookering · hornswoggling · flimflamming · conning · tricking · fooling · outwitting
equivocation
Ambiguous language avoiding commitment
- prevaricationMisleading speech avoiding directness
- deceitDeliberate misleading of others
- duplicityDeliberate misleading behavior
guile · trickery · dissembling · falsification · misrepresentation · mendacity · disingenuousness · insincerity · untruthfulness · dishonesty
hedging
Noncommittal maneuvering
- dodgingAvoiding by moving aside
- sidesteppingMoving aside to avoid
- deflectingTurning from original path
waffling · fudging · circumlocution · obfuscation · vagueness · ambiguity · noncommittal · fence-sitting · avoidance · misdirection
omission
Failure to include
- selectiveChoosing with care
- partialFavoring one side
- incompleteLacking necessary parts
misleading · distortion · spin · slanting · shading · coloring · twisting · skewing · cherry-picking · withholding
misleading
Causing false beliefs
- deceivingCausing false belief
- beguilingCharmingly deceptive
- hoodwinkingDeliberately misleading someone
bamboozling · duping · snookering · hornswoggling · flimflamming · conning · tricking · fooling · outwitting · finagling