̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ˈkāshən noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English equivocacioun, from Medieval Latin aequivocation-, aequivocatio, from aequivocatus + Latin -ion-, -io -ion
1. : an equivocal state or character : ambiguity ; especially : duplicity of meaning in word
equivocation in the word “fallible”
2. : an act or instance of equivocating : uncertainty , evasiveness , prevarication
bold and forthright thinking and action are … needed; equivocation , compromise, pussyfooting … are no longer to be tolerated — I.M.Ives
: confusion of terms or ideas similar in meaning
the evils arising from the equivocation between faith and intellectual … insight — S.T.Coleridge
a lie may be told by silence, by equivocation , … by a glance of the eye — John Ruskin
3. : a fallacy in logical reasoning arising from an ambiguous use of a word or phrase — contrasted with amphibology