| Main Entry: | tergiversate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | abandon belief |
Synonyms: |
apostatize, defect, equivocate, hedge, renounce, shift, shuffle |
| Main Entry: | defect |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | break from belief, faith |
Synonyms: |
abandon, abscond, apostatize, back out, break faith, change sides, depart, desert, fall away from, forsake, go, go back on, go over, go over the fence, lapse, leave, pull out, quit, rat, rebel, reject, renege, renounce, revolt, run out, schism, sell out, spurn, take a walk, tergiversate, tergiverse, turn, turn coat, walk out on, withdraw |
Antonyms: |
come in, join |
| Main Entry: | depart |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | leave, retreat |
Synonyms: |
abandon, abdicate, absent, beat it, blast off, cut and run, cut out, decamp, desert, disappear, emigrate, escape, evacuate, exit, get away, git, go, go away, go forth, hit the bricks, hit the road, hit the trail, make a break, march out, migrate, move on, move out, part, perish, pull out, quit, remove, retire, sally forth, say goodbye, scram, secede, set forth, shove off, slip away, split*, start, start out, take leave, tergiversate, troop, vacate, vanish, withdraw |
Antonyms: |
arrive, come, enter |
| Main Entry: | desert |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | abandon, defect |
Synonyms: |
abscond, apostatize, bail out, beach, betray, bolt, check out*, chuck, cop out, crawl out, decamp, depart, duck*, escape, flee, fly, forsake, give up, go, go AWOL, go back on, go over the hill, go west, jilt, leave, leave high and dry, leave in the lurch, leave stranded, light, maroon, opt out, play truant, pull out, quit, relinquish, renounce, resign, run out on, sneak off, split*, strand, take a hike, take off, tergiversate, throw over, vacate, violate oath, walk |
| Notes: | that impoverished stretch of sand called a desert can only afford one 's'; that rich gooey extra thing at the end of the meal called a dessert indulges in two of them |
Antonyms: |
aid, assist, come back, help, stay, support |
| Main Entry: | dodge |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | avoid |
Synonyms: |
circumlocute, dark, deceive, ditch, duck, elude, equivocate, escape, evade, fence, fend off, fudge, get around, get out of, give the slip, hedge, juke, lurch, malinger, move to the side, parry, pussyfoot, put the move on, shake, shake off, shift, shirk, short-circuit, shuffle, sidestep, skip out on, skirt, slide, slip, swerve, tergiversate, tergiverse, trick, turn aside, weasel |
Antonyms: |
confront, encounter, face, meet, stand up to |
| Main Entry: | equivocate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | avoid an issue |
Synonyms: |
beat around the bush, beg the question, blow hot and cold, cavil, cloud the issue, con, cop a plea, cop out, cover up, dodge, double-talk, elude, escape, eschew, evade, falsify, fence, fib, flip-flop, fudge, give run around, hedge, hem and haw, jive, lie, mince words, palter, parry, pass the buck, prevaricate, pussyfoot, quibble, run around, shuck, shuffle, sidestep, sit on the fence, stonewall, tell white lie, tergiversate, tergiverse, waffle, weasel |
Antonyms: |
face, meet, speak on |
| Main Entry: | evade |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | get away from |
Synonyms: |
avoid, baffle, balk, beat around bush, beg the question, bypass, cavil, circumvent, conceal, confuse, cop out, deceive, decline, dodge, double, duck, elude, equivocate, escape, eschew, fence, fend off, flee, fly, fudge, get around, give the runaround, hedge, hide, keep distance, lay low, lead on a merry chase, lie, parry, pass up, pretend, prevaricate, pussyfoot, put off, shift, shirk, shuck, shuffle, shun, shy, sidestep, slip out, sneak away, steer clear of, tergiversate, trick, waffle, weasel |
Antonyms: |
face, meet, take on |
| Main Entry: | fence |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | dodge; beat around the bush |
Synonyms: |
avoid, baffle, cavil, duck, equivocate, evade, feint, foil, hedge, maneuver, outwit, parry, prevaricate, quibble, shift, shirk, sidestep, stonewall, tergiversate |
Antonyms: |
face, meet |
| Main Entry: | hedge |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | avoid, dodge |
Synonyms: |
be noncommittal, beat around the bush, blow hot and cold, cop a plea, cop out, duck, equivocate, evade, flip-flop, fudge, give the run around, hem and haw, jive, pass the buck, prevaricate, pussyfoot, quibble, run around, shilly-shally, shuck, shuffle, sidestep, sit on the fence, stall, stonewall, temporize, tergiversate, tergiverse, waffle |
Antonyms: |
confront, face, meet |
| Main Entry: | hesitate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | wait; be uncertain |
Synonyms: |
alternate, balance, balk, be irresolute, be reluctant, be unwilling, blow hot and cold, dally, debate, defer, delay, demur, dillydally, dither, doubt, equivocate, falter, flounder, fluctuate, fumble, hang back, hang*, hedge, hem and haw, hold back, hold off, hover, linger, oscillate, pause, ponder, pull back, pussyfoot, scruple, seesaw, shift, shrink, shy away, sit on fence, stammer, stop, straddle, stumble, stutter, swerve, tergiversate, think about, think twice, vacillate, waffle, waver, weigh |
Antonyms: |
attack, carry on, continue, go, go ahead, persevere, resolve |