💹 Reducing risk 🤔 Avoiding commitment

hedging

7.5

Making vague statements to avoid giving a direct answer

noun
/ˈhɛdʒɪŋ/

: evasión

The politician's constant hedging made it difficult to understand his true position on the issue.

He never speaks with the there's never any hedging.

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Examples

But the sheer amount of hedging they are doing is remarkable.
And I thought this is academic hedging gone too far.
Then there's a little bit of hedging that's going on.
In her presentation, she used hedging to avoid committing to a specific timeline for the project.
His hedging during the interview left the panel unclear about his qualifications and intentions.

Synonyms

hedge

vshedging

9 7.5

A statement that avoids giving a clear answer

is the ongoing act of making such remarks to avoid commitment

equivocation

vshedging

Formal

9 9.9

Using unclear language to hide the truth and avoid giving a clear answer

is about avoiding commitment by vagueness without intending to deceive in all cases

prevarication

vshedging

Formal

3 9.9

To avoid telling the truth by being vague or misleading

is used to avoid commitment but not necessarily to lie or mislead deliberately

evasiveness

vshedging

3 7.4

Avoiding giving a direct answer so people do not know what you really think

is specifically aimed at avoiding firm answers or commitment rather than general vagueness

dodging

vshedging

1 5.6

Avoiding responsibility or difficult questions by using tricks

avoids commitment by using vague wording rather than trickery

noncommitment

vshedging

6.8

A lack of a clear decision, promise, or support for something

is the act of using vague language to avoid making that decision or promise

How Direct

qualification

24 4.1

hedging

7.5

equivocation

Formal

9 9.9

Surface Forms

hedging singular

hedgings plural

Morphology

hedging = hedge (transparent) = hedge + ing

Standard action/gerund formation from the verb 'hedge' meaning to qualify or avoid commitment; the nominal meaning is predictable from the verb.

Etymology

Hedging also comes from the idea of a hedge as a fence, and a helpful way to remember this is the phrase 'hedge your bets'. To 'hedge' is to put a fence around your words so you do not give a firm answer.