Equivocation — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

a statement that is not literally false but that cleverly avoids an unpleasant truth

intentionally vague or ambiguous

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/ɪkwˌɪvəkˈeɪʃən/

🇬🇧British English

/ɪkwˌɪvəkˈeɪʃən/

🇮🇳Indian English

/ɪkwˌɪvəkˈeɪʃən/

5 syllables Say it as /ɪkwˌɪvəkˈeɪʃən/.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

prevarication tergiversation evasion evasiveness

Word Forms

equivocate	verb	be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information
prevaricate	verb	be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information
evasive	adjective	deliberately vague or ambiguous
tergiversate	verb	be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Zweideutigkeit

eine Aussage, die nicht im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes falsch ist, aber eine unangenehme Wahrheit geschickt vermeidet

🇫🇷French

équivoque

une affirmation qui n'est pas littéralement fausse mais qui évite intelligemment une vérité désagréable

🇪🇸Spanish

equívoco

una afirmación que no es literalmente falsa pero que hábilmente evita una verdad desagradable

🇮🇹Italian

equivoco

un'affermazione che non è letteralmente falsa ma che evita abilmente una verità spiacevole

🇳🇱Dutch

dubbelzinnigheid

een bewering die niet letterlijk onwaar is, maar die op slimme wijze een onaangename waarheid vermijdt

🇵🇹Portuguese

equívoco

uma afirmação que não é literalmente falsa, mas que evita habilmente uma verdade desagradável

🇷🇺Russian

двусмысленность

утверждение, которое не является ложным в буквальном смысле слова, но которое ловко избегает неприятной истины

India

🇮🇳Hindi

गोल-मोल बात

एक ऐसा कथन जो वस्तुतः झूठ नहीं है लेकिन जो चतुराई से एक अप्रिय सत्य से बचता है

🇧🇩Bengali

বিদ্বেষ

একটি বিবৃতি যা আক্ষরিক অর্থে মিথ্যা নয় কিন্তু চতুরভাবে একটি অপ্রীতিকর সত্য এড়িয়ে যায়

🇮🇳Tamil

சமன்பாடு

ஒரு கூற்று உண்மையில் தவறானது அல்ல, ஆனால் அது ஒரு விரும்பத்தகாத உண்மையை புத்திசாலித்தனமாக தவிர்க்கிறது

🇮🇳Telugu

సందిగ్ధత

ఒక వాంగ్మూలం అక్షరాలా తప్పు కాదు కానీ తెలివిగా అసహ్యకరమైన సత్యాన్ని నివారిస్తుంది

🇮🇳Marathi

इक्वोकेशन

असे विधान जे अक्षरशः खोटे नाही परंतु चतुराईने अप्रिय सत्य टाळते

🇮🇳Gujarati

અસ્પષ્ટતા

એક નિવેદન કે જે શાબ્દિક રીતે ખોટું નથી પરંતુ તે હોશિયારીથી અપ્રિય સત્યને ટાળે છે

🇮🇳Kannada

ಸಂದಿಗ್ಧತೆ

ಒಂದು ಹೇಳಿಕೆಯು ಅಕ್ಷರಶಃ ಸುಳ್ಳಲ್ಲ ಆದರೆ ಅದು ಅಹಿತಕರ ಸತ್ಯವನ್ನು ಜಾಣತನದಿಂದ ತಪ್ಪಿಸುತ್ತದೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

സമവാക്യം

അക്ഷരാർത്ഥത്തിൽ തെറ്റല്ലെങ്കിലും അപ്രിയ സത്യത്തെ സമർത്ഥമായി ഒഴിവാക്കുന്ന ഒരു പ്രസ്താവന

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਨਿੰਦਾ

ਇੱਕ ਬਿਆਨ ਜੋ ਸ਼ਾਬਦਿਕ ਤੌਰ 'ਤੇ ਝੂਠ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੈ ਪਰ ਜੋ ਚਲਾਕੀ ਨਾਲ ਇੱਕ ਕੋਝਾ ਸੱਚਾਈ ਤੋਂ ਬਚਦਾ ਹੈ

🇵🇰Urdu

استدلال

ایسا بیان جو لفظی طور پر غلط نہیں ہے لیکن وہ چالاکی سے کسی ناخوشگوار سچائی سے بچتا ہے۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

模棱两可

这种说法并非字面意义上的错误，而是巧妙地避免了令人不快的事实

🇯🇵Japanese

あいまいさ

文字通り虚偽ではないが、不愉快な真実を巧みに避けた発言

🇰🇷Korean

모호한 말

말 그대로 거짓은 아니지만 불쾌한 진실을 교묘하게 피하는 진술

🇻🇳Vietnamese

sự mập mờ

một tuyên bố đó không phải là sai theo nghĩa đen nhưng đó khéo léo tránh một sự thật khó chịu

🇹🇭Thai

ความคลุมเครือ

ข้อความที่ไม่เป็นเท็จอย่างแท้จริง แต่หลีกเลี่ยงความจริงอันไม่พึงประสงค์อย่างชาญฉลาด

🇮🇩Indonesian

pengelakan

sebuah pernyataan yang tidak benar-benar salah tetapi dengan cerdik menghindari kebenaran yang tidak menyenangkan

🇵🇭Filipino

paglilinaw

isang pahayag na hindi literal na mali ngunit matalinong umiiwas sa isang hindi kasiya-siyang katotohanan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

غموض

بيان ليس كاذبًا حرفيًا ولكنه يتجنب بذكاء الحقيقة غير السارة

🇮🇷Persian

ابهام

جمله ای که به معنای واقعی کلمه نادرست نیست، اما هوشمندانه از یک حقیقت ناخوشایند اجتناب می کند

🇹🇷Turkish

kaçamaklık

kelimenin tam anlamıyla yanlış olmayan ancak hoş olmayan bir gerçeği akıllıca önleyen bir ifade

🇮🇱Hebrew

דוּ מַשְׁמָעוּת

אמירה שאינה שקרית ממש אבל נמנעת בחוכמה מאמת לא נעימה

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'equivocation'?

The primary meaning of 'equivocation' is 'a statement that is not literally false but that cleverly avoids an unpleasant truth'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'equivocation' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'equivocation' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'equivocation' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'equivocation' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'equivocation' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'equivocation' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'equivocation' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'equivocation' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'equivocation' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'equivocation' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted