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pposite feelings, purposes, or characters; deserving to be suspected; as, his actions are equivocal. "Equivocal repentances." Milton.

In an equivocal manner.

The state of being equivocal.

Not equivocal; not doubtful; not ambiguous; evident; sincere; plain; as, unequivocal evidence; unequivocal words. -- Un`e*quiv"o*cal*ly, adv. -- Un`e*quiv"o*cal*ness, n.

A female adventurer; a woman who tries to gain position by equivocal means.

to the signification of language, arising from its admitting of more than one meaning; an equivocal word or expression. No shadow of ambiguity can rest upon the course to be pursued. I. Taylor. The words are of single signification, without any ambiguity. South.

t to signification; capable of being understood in either of two or more possible senses; equivocal; as, an ambiguous course; an ambiguous expression. What have been thy answers What but dark, Ambiguous, and with double sense deluding Milton.

Of or pertaining to amphiboly; ambiguous; equivocal.

Not canonical. Hence: Of doubtful authority; equivocal; mythic; fictitious; spurious; false. The passages . . . are, however, in part from apocryphal or fictitious works. Sir G. C. Lewis.

Sophistical, equivocal, or false reasoning or teaching in regard to duties, obligations, and morals.

Free from ambiguity; unequivocal; unmistakable; unquestionable; clear; evident; as, a decided advantage. "A more decided taste for science." Prescott.

An ambiguous speech; a figure in which a word is used an equivocal sense. [R.]

Divided into two; acting two parts, one openly and the other secretly; equivocal; deceitful; insincere. With a double heart do they speak. Ps. xii. 2.

Occasioning doubt; not clear, or obvious; equivocal; questionable; doubtful; as, a dubious answer. Wiping the dingy shirt with a still more dubious pocket handkerchief. Thackeray.

Equivocalness.

To use words of equivocal or doubtful signification; to express one's opinions in terms which admit of different senses, with intent to deceive; to use ambiguous expressions with a view to mislead; as, to equivocate is the work of duplicity. All that Garnet had to say for him was that he supposed he meant to equivocate…

plain in language; open to the understanding; clear; not obscure or ambiguous; express; unequivocal; as, an explicit declaration. The language of the charter was too explicit to admit of a doubt. Bancroft.

Having a double meaning; ambiguous; equivocal. Cross forked (Her.), a cross, the ends of whose arms are divided into two sharp points; -- called also cross double fitché. A cross forked of three points is a cross, each of whose arms terminates in three sharp points. -- Forked counsel, advice pointing more than one way…

Having the same name or designation, but different meaning or relation; hence, equivocal; ambiguous.

Equivocally; ambiguously.