ambivalent

English

WOTD – 21 March 2008

Etymology

Back-formation from ambivalence, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] German Ambivalenz, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin ambi- (“in two ways”) + valeō (“be strong”); equivalent to ambi- +‎ -valent.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /æmˈbɪv.ə.lənt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

Adjective

ambivalent (comparative more ambivalent, superlative most ambivalent)

1. Simultaneously experiencing or expressing opposing or contradictory feelings, beliefs, or motivations.
2. Alternately having one opinion or feeling, and then the opposite.

   He has an ambivalent relationship towards his parents.

Synonyms

• (simultaneously experiencing or expressing opposing feelings): conflicted, uncertain, undecided, unresolved
• (alternately feeling opposing feelings): vacillating, fluctuating, wavering

Related terms

• ambiguous
• ambivalence

• ambivalently
• equivalent

Translations

experiencing or expressing opposing feelings

• Armenian: հակասական (hy) (hakasakan), ոչ միանշանակ (očʻ mianšanak)
• Bulgarian: двойствен (bg) (dvojstven), противоречив (bg) (protivorečiv)
• Catalan: ambivalent (ca)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 矛盾 (zh) (maau4 teon5)

  Mandarin: 矛盾 (zh) (máodùn)

• Czech: ambivalentní, rozporuplný m
• Dutch: ambivalent (nl), ambivalente (nl)
• Finnish: ristiriitainen (fi)
• French: ambivalent (fr)
• German: ambivalent, doppelwertig, zwiespältig (de)
• Hungarian: ambivalens (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Ido: ambivalenta (io)
• Indonesian: ambivalen (id), ragu (id), bimbang (id), ragu-ragu
• Italian: ambivalente (it) m or f
• Japanese: どっちつかず (ja) (docchi-tsukazu)
• Korean: 반대감정이 공존하는 (bandaegamjeong-i gongjonhaneun)
• Maori: ngākaurua, whēangaanga, rangirua
• Polish: ambiwalentny (pl) m
• Portuguese: ambivalente m or f
• Russian: дво́йственный (ru) (dvójstvennyj), противоречи́вый (ru) (protivorečívyj)
• Slovak: ambivalentný (sk) m, rozporuplný m
• Spanish: ambivalente (es)
• Swedish: ambivalent (sv), kluven (sv)
• Turkish: ikircikli (tr), ikircimli (tr), kararsız (tr), mütereddit (tr)

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Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from German ambivalent.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌɑm.bi.vaːˈlɛnt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: am‧bi‧va‧lent
• Rhymes: -ɛnt

Adjective

ambivalent (comparative ambivalenter, superlative ambivalentst)

1. 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

• ambivalentie

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French

Etymology

From German ambivalent, from Latin ambi- + Latin valēns, the latter from the verb valeō

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑ̃.bi.va.lɑ̃/

Adjective

ambivalent (feminine ambivalente, masculine plural ambivalents, feminine plural ambivalentes)

1. ambivalent
2. ambiguous, equivocal

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German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔambivaˈlɛnt/

• Audio (Austria):

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

ambivalent (comparative ambivalenter, superlative am ambivalentesten)

1. ambivalent

   Seine Gefühle ihr gegenüber sind ambivalent, sowohl positiv als auch negativ.

   His feelings to her are ambivalent, positive as well as negative.

Further reading

• “ambivalent” in Duden online