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equivocate

[ih-kwiv-uh-keyt] / ɪˈkwɪv əˌkeɪt /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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Each time, the Fed chose the same posture: assess; equivocate, delay.

From MarketWatch May 13, 2026

"If he moves toward FX unification that is also a positive. He cannot equivocate."

From Reuters Nov. 20, 2023

That’s the guts, to claim the permission to love what you love, to be all of the things you are, without having to equivocate or explain.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 20, 2023

He doesn't have to explain, equivocate or retreat into the passive voice.

From Salon Aug. 27, 2022

She refused to equivocate on the issue of school desegregation, and in the Hispanic community she became an important, heroic voice.

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger

The Book of Esther was so welcome this year because it never equivocates.

From The Wall Street Journal Mar. 5, 2026

Instead the agency equivocates, emphasizing comfort and stating people should “wear the most protective mask you can that fits well and that you will wear consistently.”

From Scientific American Jun. 15, 2022

When Jacob asks her whether she’s staff — because she seems to have access to locked rooms — or a patient, she equivocates: “Not exactly” is her answer to both questions.

From Washington Post Nov. 30, 2021

“It equivocates on what life and death means for the purposes of the criminal law,” Professor Cohen said in an email.

From New York Times Nov. 8, 2019

“Horatio, you speak like a philosopher who equivocates truth and falsehood,” I said impatiently.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

But he has equivocated over how to get there, sometimes leaning into the threat of force, other times pushing the diplomacy.

From BBC Jun. 16, 2025

Per the indictment, when Employee No. 4 equivocated, Nauta repeated the statement insistently and asked, without apparently subtlety, “What are we going to do?”

From Slate Jul. 27, 2023

Franklin Graham, the son of evangelist Billy Graham and the president of Samaritan’s Purse, equivocated.

From New York Times Apr. 24, 2022

At his hearing this year, Sirhan equivocated yet again.

From Washington Post Sep. 14, 2021

"The risk is distasteful to me," she equivocated, after a pause.

From Bandit Love by Juanita Savage

Third, political leaders must stop equivocating when antisemitism appears in activist movements, universities or cultural institutions.

From The Wall Street Journal Dec. 14, 2025

Inside, we shared a 90-minute pocket where Muslim joy didn’t need disclaimers or cautious sidestepping and equivocating.

From Slate Jun. 30, 2025

About 40% of lawmakers — nearly equally divided between Democrats and Republicans — surveyed said they didn’t intend to assert a special privilege to withhold their emails and other records, without equivocating.

From Seattle Times Mar. 1, 2024

When she pressed him on what he meant, Mr. Trump gave an equivocating answer: “Not — not that I can think of.”

From New York Times May 11, 2023

Kate was particularly punctual at church, and once or twice he caught an equivocating glance towards the warden's seat, and he really did at times fancy he should like to play at "taming the shrew."

From Traditions of Lancashire, Volume 1 by John Roby




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