tergiversation
/tɝd͡ʒɪvɚˈseɪʃən/
"tergiversation" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“tergiversation” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 14
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of abandoning something or someone, of changing sides; desertion; betrayal.
Corpus desk
Index EN-tergiversation · tergiversation · English
tergiversation · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 14 letters
- VOW-6 6 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "T" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | tergiversation |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /tɝd͡ʒɪvɚˈseɪʃən/ |
| Letters | 14 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “tergiversation” in English
Rare enough to double-check
tergiversation is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /tɝd͡ʒɪvɚˈseɪʃən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for tergiversation in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin tergiversātiō, from tergiversārī (“to turn one's back, to evade, to avoid”) + -tiō (“-tion: forming abstract nouns”). Equivalent to tergiversate + -ion. The correct English form is tergiversation, spelled T-E-R-G-I-V-E-R-S-A-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1The act of abandoning something or someone, of changing sides; desertion; betrayal.
- 2The act of evading any clear course of action or speech, of being deliberately ambiguous; equivocation; fickleness.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how tergiversation appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
They make their outward impudence their mask, as foxes, the better we may not see where they truly tend, nor their true black tergiversation beneath.
Anyone who desires an hour's amusement may be advised to look up the tergiversations of eminent craniologists in their attempts to prove from brain measurements that women are stupider than men.
Etymology
From Latin tergiversātiō, from tergiversārī (“to turn one's back, to evade, to avoid”) + -tiō (“-tion: forming abstract nouns”). Equivalent to tergiversate + -ion.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.