Tergiversation
Pronunciation : Ter`gi*ver*sa"tion
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [L. tergiversario: cf. F. tergiversation.]
Definition : 1. The act of tergiversating; a shifting; shift; subterfuge; evasion. Writing is to be preferred before verbal conferences, as being freer from passions and tergiversations. Abp. Bramhall.
2. Fickleness of conduct; inconstancy; change. The colonel, after all his tergiversations, lost his life in the king's service. Clarendon.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913