equivocation

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a statement that is not literally false but that cleverly avoids an unpleasant truth
  2. noun intentionally vague or ambiguous
  3. noun falsification by means of vague or ambiguous language

Etymology

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).

In classic literature

Synonyms

evasion

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