ambiguous
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Latin ambiguus (“moving from side to side, of doubtful nature”), from ambigere (“to go about, wander, doubt”), from ambi- (“around, about, on both sides”) + agere (“to drive, move”).
Pronunciation[edit]
Adjective[edit]
ambiguous (comparative more ambiguous, superlative most ambiguous)
- Open to multiple interpretations.
- Synonyms: equivocal, unclear
- Antonyms: unambiguous, clear
- The politician was criticized for his ambiguous statements and lack of precision.
- (obsolete, of a person) Hesitant; uncertain; not taking sides.
- 1662, Thomas Salusbury, (Please provide the book title or journal name):
- And forasmuch as in this same question I am ambiguous, and Simplicius is resolute....
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
open to multiple interpretations
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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See also[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- “ambiguous”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “ambiguous”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
References[edit]
- John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “ambiguous”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.
Categories:
- 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 *h₂eǵ-
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English terms with quotations
- en:Ambiguity