ambiguity
[am-bi-gyoo-i-tee]
- doubtfulness or uncertainty of meaning or intention: to speak with ambiguity; an ambiguity of manner.
- an unclear, indefinite, or equivocal word, expression, meaning, etc.: a contract free of ambiguities; the ambiguities of modern poetry.
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Origin of ambiguity
Synonyms
See more synonyms for ambiguity on Thesaurus.com1. vagueness, deceptiveness. 2. equivocation.
Antonyms
1. explicitness, clarity.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for ambiguity
Contemporary Examples
The ambiguity revolving around the event made it a poor candidate for a final showdown.
Hollande is ‘the king of doublespeak, ambiguity, and perpetual lies’
Hell Hath No Fury Like Valerie Trierweiler, the French President’s ExLizzie Crocker
November 28, 2014
But the ambiguity of “appropriate disciplinary action” is what is so frightening about the smoking ban.
I was very interested in seeing that the ambiguity of the novel was replicated in the movie.
Sherman Alexie on His New Film, the Redskins, and Why It's OK to Laugh at His WorkWilliam O’Connor
August 22, 2014
The medium, the long form, rewards… if not ambiguity, then elements that create multiple reactions in the viewer.
Historical Examples
There is no circumlocution nor ambiguity of expression here.
James never noticed anything—or if he did, his ambiguity was two-edged.
Love and LucyMaurice Henry Hewlett
Obscurity in a teacher is a great defect, especially when he glories in his ambiguity.
The Mistakes of JesusWilliam Floyd
He found an ambiguity in the wording, a choice of constructions.
The Long RollMary Johnston
Even the term "expression" has a certain amount of ambiguity.
Evolution in Modern ThoughtErnst Haeckel
ambiguity
- the possibility of interpreting an expression in two or more distinct ways
- an instance of this, as in the sentence they are cooking apples
- vagueness or uncertainty of meaningthere are several ambiguities in the situation
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for ambiguity
n.
c.1400, "uncertainty, doubt, indecision, hesitation," also from Medieval Latin ambiguitatem (nominative ambiguitas) "double meaning, equivocalness, double sense," noun of state from ambiguus (see ambiguous).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper