ambivalent

[ am-biv-uh-luhnt ]
See synonyms for ambivalent on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. having mixed feelings about someone or something; being unable to choose between two (usually opposing) courses of action: The whole family was ambivalent about the move to the suburbs.She is regarded as a morally ambivalent character in the play.

  2. Psychology. of or relating to the coexistence within an individual of positive and negative feelings toward the same person, object, or action, simultaneously drawing that individual in opposite directions.

Origin of ambivalent

1
Back formation from ambivalence

Other words from ambivalent

  • am·biv·a·lent·ly, adverb

Words that may be confused with ambivalent

Words Nearby ambivalent

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use ambivalent in a sentence

  • Let us recall that in our earlier discussion we took note of the ambivalent character of love.

    Herein is Love | Reuel L. Howe
  • But I have to ask if the feelings and instincts are really ambivalent?

  • Let us suppose the subject has ambivalent feelings toward his father.

  • I mean that the relation is really ambivalent, that is, it is composed of conflicting feelings of tenderness and hostility.

    Totem and Taboo | Sigmund Freud
  • Thus we find again that taboo has grown out of the soil of an ambivalent emotional attitude.

    Totem and Taboo | Sigmund Freud