ambivalent
English
Etymology
Back-formation from ambivalence, from German Ambivalenz, from Latin ambi- (“in two ways”) + valeō (“be strong”); equivalent to ambi- + -valent.
Pronunciation
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Audio (US): (file) Audio (AU): (file)
Adjective
ambivalent (comparative more ambivalent, superlative most ambivalent)
- Simultaneously experiencing or expressing opposing or contradictory feelings, beliefs, or motivations.
- Alternately having one opinion or feeling, and then the opposite.
- He has an ambivalent relationship towards his parents.
Usage notes
Ambivalent is commonly used to denote lacking emotion instead of having conflicting emotions. More appropriate alternatives for a lack of emotion would be indifferent and apathetic.
Synonyms
- (simultaneously experiencing or expressing opposing feelings): conflicted, uncertain, undecided, unresolved
- (alternately feeling opposing feelings): vacillating, fluctuating, wavering
Related terms
Translations
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Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from German ambivalent.
Pronunciation
Adjective
ambivalent (comparative ambivalenter, superlative ambivalentst)
- ambivalent (simultaneously experiencing conflicting drives) [from early 20th c.]
Inflection
Declension of ambivalent | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
uninflected | ambivalent | |||
inflected | ambivalente | |||
comparative | ambivalenter | |||
positive | comparative | superlative | ||
predicative/adverbial | ambivalent | ambivalenter | het ambivalentst het ambivalentste | |
indefinite | m./f. sing. | ambivalente | ambivalentere | ambivalentste |
n. sing. | ambivalent | ambivalenter | ambivalentste | |
plural | ambivalente | ambivalentere | ambivalentste | |
definite | ambivalente | ambivalentere | ambivalentste | |
partitive | ambivalents | ambivalenters | — |
Derived terms
Descendants
- → Indonesian: ambivalen
French
Etymology
From German ambivalent, from Latin ambi- + Latin valēns, the latter from the verb valeō.
Pronunciation
Adjective
ambivalent (feminine ambivalente, masculine plural ambivalents, feminine plural ambivalentes)
Further reading
- “ambivalent”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
German
Etymology
From ambi-, ambo and valens (inflected valent-), valeo.
Pronunciation
Adjective
ambivalent (strong nominative masculine singular ambivalenter, comparative ambivalenter, superlative am ambivalentesten)
- ambivalent
- Seine Gefühle ihr gegenüber sind ambivalent, sowohl positiv als auch negativ.
- His feelings to her are ambivalent, positive as well as negative.
Declension
Related terms
Further reading
- “ambivalent” in Duden online
- “ambivalent” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
Romanian
Etymology
From French ambivalent.
Adjective
ambivalent m or n (feminine singular ambivalentă, masculine plural ambivalenți, feminine and neuter plural ambivalente)
Declension
singular | plural | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | neuter | feminine | masculine | neuter | feminine | ||
nominative/ accusative |
indefinite | ambivalent | ambivalentă | ambivalenți | ambivalente | ||
definite | ambivalentul | ambivalenta | ambivalenții | ambivalentele | |||
genitive/ dative |
indefinite | ambivalent | ambivalente | ambivalenți | ambivalente | ||
definite | ambivalentului | ambivalentei | ambivalenților | ambivalentelor |
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂en-
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂welh₁- (rule)
- English back-formations
- English terms derived from German
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms prefixed with ambi-
- English terms suffixed with -valent
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English terms with usage examples
- Dutch terms borrowed from German
- Dutch terms derived from German
- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Dutch terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɛnt
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch adjectives
- French terms borrowed from German
- French terms derived from German
- French terms derived from Latin
- French 4-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French terms with audio links
- French lemmas
- French adjectives
- German 4-syllable words
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German terms with audio links
- German lemmas
- German adjectives
- German terms with usage examples
- Romanian terms borrowed from French
- Romanian terms derived from French
- Romanian lemmas
- Romanian adjectives