# tergiversation

> English word · Noun · IPA /tɝd͡ʒɪvɚˈseɪʃən/

## Definitions
1. The act of abandoning something or someone, of changing sides; desertion; betrayal.
2. The 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.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/tergiversation