All 6 Uses of
equivocate
in
Macbeth
- O, come in, equivocator.
p. 61.5equivocator = liar (someone who speaks in a misleading, ambiguous manner)
- yet could not equivocate to heaven.
p. 61.6equivocate = lie or mislead
- here's an equivocator, that could swear in both the scales against either scale, who committed treason enough for God's sake,
p. 61.6 *equivocator = liar (someone who speaks in a misleading, ambiguous manner)
- Lechery, sir, it [alcohol] provokes and unprovokes; it provokes the desire, but it takes away the performance: therefore much drink may be said to be an equivocator with lechery.
p. 63.4equivocator = someone who is ambiguous about supporting and opposing something
- it persuades him, and disheartens him; makes him stand to, and not stand to: in conclusion, equivocates him
p. 63.5equivocates = sometimes favors and sometime disfavors
- I pull in resolution and begin
To doubt the equivocation of the fiend
That lies like truth.p. 179.7equivocation = deceptive languageeditor's notes: This could be paraphrased as: "I’m losing my determination and starting to doubt the deceitful double-talk of the devil, which sounds truthful but is false."
Definitions:
-
(1)
(equivocate) to speak in an evasive or unclear way -- typically in an attempt to satisfy people who want different things or to avoid making a commitment
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Word Mastery: In the field of logic, equivocation is a fallacy resulting from use of ambiguous language in an incompatible manner; e.g.:
1. Odd things arouse suspicion.
2. Seven is an odd number.
3. Therefore people are suspicious of the number, seven.