ambiguity
[ am-bi-gyoo-i-tee ]
/ ˌæm bɪˈgyu ɪ ti /
noun, plural am·bi·gu·i·ties.
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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RELATED WORDS
vagueness, doubt, uncertainty, equivocation, obscurity, puzzle, doubtfulness, dubiousness, tergiversation, indefiniteness, enigma, anagram, dubiety, incertitude, polysemy, equivocality, double-entendre, equivocacy
Nearby words
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- ambiguous,
- ambiguous external genitalia,
- ambiguous nucleus,
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Origin of ambiguity
SYNONYMS FOR ambiguity
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for ambiguity
ambiguity
/ (ˌæmbɪˈɡjuːɪtɪ) /
noun plural -ties
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
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
ambiguity
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).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper