Link Centre Dictionary

equivocation

equi·vo·ca·tion

UK/ɪˌkwɪvəˈkeɪʃən/ US/ɪˌkwɪvəˈkeɪʃn̩/ uncommon

noun

1.

a statement that is not literally false but that cleverly avoids an unpleasant truth

Synonyms

Origin

c. 1380, from Middle English equivocacion, from Old French equivocation, from Medieval Latin aequivocātiō, from aequivocō, from Late Latin aequivocus (“ambiguous, equivocal”), from Latin aequus (“equal”) + vocō (“call”); a calque of Ancient Greek ὁμωνυμία (homōnumía).

Related words

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.