ambiguous
- open to or having several possible meanings or interpretations; equivocal: an ambiguous answer.
- Linguistics. (of an expression) exhibiting constructional homonymity; having two or more structural descriptions, as the sequence Flying planes can be dangerous.
- of doubtful or uncertain nature; difficult to comprehend, distinguish, or classify: a rock of ambiguous character.
- lacking clearness or definiteness; obscure; indistinct: an ambiguous shape; an ambiguous future.
Origin of ambiguous
Synonyms for ambiguous
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Antonyms for ambiguous
Related Words for ambiguous
enigmatic, questionable, unclear, uncertain, puzzling, equivocal, opaque, inconclusive, dubious, cryptic, obscure, vague, doubtful, indefinite, indeterminate, muddy, tenebrous, unintelligible, inexplicit, enigmaticalExamples from the Web for ambiguous
Contemporary Examples of ambiguous
We can only speculate as to the intentions behind these ambiguous words.
The writer has followed a rule but compromised clarity; whether the vote or the approval was immediate is ambiguous.
“The subject area in question is subjective and ambiguous,” he wrote.
In a sense, the ambiguous nature of their relationship—is it sexual or not?
Cara Delevingne, Ireland Baldwin, and How Sexually Uninhibited Models Are Bucking the Male GazeAmanda Marcotte
July 2, 2014
I really looked at it very carefully, and my feeling is that it has to be ambiguous.
How ‘Transcendence’ Director Wally Pfister Became Christopher Nolan’s Secret WeaponAndrew Romano
April 17, 2014
Historical Examples of ambiguous
“Possibly,” said he, with an ambiguous half smile, which I did not understand.
The First ViolinJessie Fothergill
Such are the modes in which propositions and terms may be ambiguous.'
EuthydemusPlato
His ambiguous, loose talk, only perplexed and alarmed her; the explanation was none at all.
The StrollersFrederic S. Isham
A cold, ambiguous smile was the only reply he received to this speech.
The Fortunes Of GlencoreCharles James Lever
There is cited the case of a negro arrested on an ambiguous charge.
Negro Migration during the WarEmmett J. Scott
ambiguous
- having more than one possible interpretation or meaning
- difficult to understand or classify; obscure
Word Origin for ambiguous
Word Origin and History for ambiguous
1520s, from Latin ambiguus "having double meaning, shifting, changeable, doubtful," adjective derived from ambigere "to dispute about," literally "to wander," from ambi- "about" (see ambi-) + agere "drive, lead, act" (see act). Sir Thomas More (1528) seems to have first used it in English, but ambiguity dates back to c.1400. Related: Ambiguously; ambiguousness.