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 May 6, 2026) - The act of abandoning something or someone, of changing sides; desertion; betrayal.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | tergiversation |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /tɝd͡ʒɪvɚˈseɪʃən/ |
| Letters | 14 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “tergiversation” sits in English frequency
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.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “tergiversation”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-E-R-G-I-V-E-R-S-A-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /tɝd͡ʒɪvɚˈseɪʃən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.