What does "palter" mean?
Palter: To act in insincere or deceitful manner; to play false; to equivocate; to shift; to dodge; to trifle. Romans, that have spoke the word, And will not palter. Shak. Who never sold the truth to serve the hour, Nor paltered with eternal God for power. Tennyson.
Additional senses
- 2.To babble; to chatter. [Obs.]
- 3.To trifle with; to waste; to squander in paltry ways or on worthless things. [Obs.] "Palter out your time in the penal statutes." Beau. & Fl.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00