Tergiversation
Wally from Elk Rapids
asked about a word that he hopes he never has to say out loud: tergiversation.
It comes from the Latin tergum, the back, and vertere, to turn. Literally, the word
means to turn one’s back on something. While a person can turn his or her back
on something attractive but evil, the word has taken on negative connotations.
Thus, synonyms would be to desert, to be a renegade, to abandon one’s duties,
and to apostatize.
Here is an example:
“Rudoph Guiliani had himself changed positions over the years, having been
prolife and then pro-choice, and he knew the pain and punishment of
tergiversation. But after all, he was elected mayor, and like so many others,
concluded that to oppose abortion is politically more dangerous than to
tolerate it.” [William F. Buckley, “Temporizing on the Abortion Issue,” Buffalo News, 08/03/1994.]
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