ambiguity

American  

[am-bi-gyoo-i-tee] / ˌæm bɪˈgju ɪ ti /

noun

• ambiguities
  plural

1. doubtfulness or uncertainty of meaning or intention.

   to speak with ambiguity;

   an ambiguity of manner.

   Synonyms:

   deceptiveness, vagueness

   Antonyms:

   clarity, explicitness

2. an unclear, indefinite, or equivocal word, expression, meaning, etc..

   a contract free of ambiguities;

   the ambiguities of modern poetry.

   Synonyms:

   equivocation

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ambiguity British  

/ ˌæmbɪˈɡjuːɪtɪ /

noun

1. the possibility of interpreting an expression in two or more distinct ways

2. an instance of this, as in the sentence they are cooking apples

3. vagueness or uncertainty of meaning

   there are several ambiguities in the situation

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonambiguity
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• ambiguities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of ambiguity

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English ambiguite, from Latin ambiguitās, equivalent to ambigu(us) ambiguous ( def. ) + -itās -ity ( def. )

Explanation

Something with ambiguity is unclear. Think about the sentence, "Jill saw the man with binoculars." If you are wondering whether Jill or the man had the binoculars, you are noticing the ambiguity, or the double meaning, of this sentence. Lawyers word contracts to avoid ambiguity, but in doing so prevent anyone who is not a lawyer from understanding what they have written! If you can't choose between two decisions because both seem somehow wrong, you are dealing with moral ambiguity. Imagine if a friend who has helped you out many times asks you to cheat. It's wrong to cheat but it also seems wrong not to help someone who has been there for you.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ambiguity ambiguities

Alongside competition has been grading everything a player does, so there is no ambiguity as to where a player stands on the depth chart or in the program.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

Friday's judgement said that while plans submitted to the UK authorities were redacted and not all rooms were identified, there was "no possible ambiguity as to the nature of the intended use of the premises".

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

Despite the ambiguity, the US provides the island with defensive weaponry.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

“In the same way that we have to be comfortable in uncomfortable situations,” Ryan says, “we have to be uncomfortable with the ambiguity of how AI is going to affect our jobs in the future.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

A second ambiguity occurs, as here, in discussing historical events which don’t quite count as actions.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

A midnight curfew was introduced following an Ashes tour blighted by off-field problems, but ambiguities around the curfew were a factor in the nightclub controversy involving Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

For anyone facing potentially dire medical results or other nerve-racking ambiguities, the waiting is the hardest part.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 4, 2026

“These ambiguities … are only likely to intensify as the conflict evolves,” Skuld said.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 5, 2026

The Times had to compensate for ambiguities and apparent data entry errors, often by taking into account freehand notes on a permit that painted a clearer picture of the project.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2025

To us today, it is tempting to ask why societies with early writing systems accepted the ambiguities that restricted writing to a few functions and a few scribes.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• doubt
• uncertainty
• vagueness