Prevaricate vs Vacillate - What's the difference?
prevaricate | vacillate |
(transitive, intransitive, obsolete) To deviate, transgress; to go astray (from).
To shift or turn from direct speech or behaviour; to evade the truth; to waffle or be (intentionally) ambiguous.
(legal) To collude, as where an informer colludes with the defendant, and makes a sham prosecution.
(legal, UK) To undertake something falsely and deceitfully, with the purpose of defeating or destroying it.
To sway unsteadily from one side to the other; oscillate.
* 1910:
To swing indecisively from one course of action or opinion to another.
* 2004: , Character: Profiles in Presidential Courage
In lang=en terms the difference between prevaricate and vacillate
is that prevaricate is to shift or turn from direct speech or behaviour; to evade the truth; to waffle or be (intentionally) ambiguous while vacillate is to swing indecisively from one course of action or opinion to another.As verbs the difference between prevaricate and vacillate
is that prevaricate is (transitive|intransitive|obsolete) to deviate, transgress; to go astray (from) while vacillate is to sway unsteadily from one side to the other; oscillate.prevaricate
English
Alternative forms
* (archaic)Verb
(prevaricat)- The people saw the politician prevaricate every day.
Derived terms
* prevarication * prevaricatorSee also
* lie ----vacillate
English
Verb
(vacillat)- Its [the barometer's] normal register in the Paumotus [the Tuamotus] was 29.90, and it was quite customary to see it vacillate between 29.85 and 30.00, or even 30.05; [...]
- On the streets of Berlin, Ruth and her compatriots vacillated "between hope and despair."