21sep2009

equivocate

\ih-KWIV-uh-kayt\ , intransitive verb:

1.To be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or to avoid committing oneself to anything definite.

Quotes:

The witness shuffled, equivocated, pretended to misunderstand the questions.

-- Thomas Babington Macaulay, History of England

By equivocating, hesitating, and giving ambiguous answers, she effected her purpose.

-- Harriet Martineau, Letters from Ireland

Dr. Lindzen does not equivocate. "We don't have any evidence that this is a serious problem," he says flatly.

-- William K. Stevens, "Skeptic Asks, Is It Really Warmer?", New York Times, June 17, 1996

Origin:

To equivocate is literally to call equally one thing or the other: It comes from Medieval Latin aequivocare, from the Latin aequus, equal + vocare, to call (from Latin vox, voice).