ambivalent
Americanadjective
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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.
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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.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ambivalent
Back formation from ambivalence
Explanation
If you can't decide how you feel about something, declare yourself ambivalent about it. Ambivalent means "having mixed feelings about something." A Swiss psychologist named Eugen Bleuler coined the German word Ambivalenz in the early twentieth century, and it was soon imported into English. Bleuler combined the Latin prefix ambi-, meaning "both," with valentia, "strength." So etymologically speaking, if you're ambivalent you're being pulled by two equally strong things — but in practice, ambivalence often arises from caring very little either way. You might feel ambivalent about your lunch options if you have to choose between a murky stew and flavorless tofu.
Vocabulary lists containing ambivalent
100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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Grade 11, List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Ambivalent as Malkmus may be on the issue, the reshuffling changes the album significantly.
From Washington Post • Apr. 8, 2022
Ambivalent, as in, I could absolutely go either way.
From Slate • Oct. 30, 2020
Ambivalent impulses flicker constantly through her lyrics and flaunt themselves in her voice, which can be sweet or raspy, childishly innocent or acidly scornful.
From New York Times • Mar. 25, 2020
“We want to have a clear narrative about these kinds of stories,” said Whitney Phillips, co-author of “The Ambivalent Internet: Mischief, Oddity and Antagonism Online.”
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 1, 2018
Ryan Milner teaches Communication at the College of Charleston, and is the co-author of a new book, The Ambivalent Internet.
From The Guardian • May 23, 2017
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
