ambiguous
[ am-big-yoo-uhs ]
/ æmˈbɪg yu əs /
adjective
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.
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RELATED WORDS
enigmatic, questionable, unclear, uncertain, puzzling, equivocal, opaque, inconclusive, dubious, cryptic, obscure, vague, doubtful, indefinite, indeterminate, muddy, tenebrous, unintelligible, inexplicit, enigmatical
Nearby words
- ambient air standard,
- ambient music,
- ambient noise,
- ambiente,
- ambiguity,
- ambiguous external genitalia,
- ambiguous nucleus,
- ambiguously,
- ambilateral,
- ambilevous
Origin of ambiguous
SYNONYMS FOR ambiguous
ANTONYMS FOR ambiguous
Synonym study
1. ambiguous, equivocal, cryptic, enigmatic describe conditions or statements not clear in meaning. ambiguous can refer to a statement, act, or attitude that is capable of two or more often contradictory interpretations, usually accidentally or unintentionally so: an ambiguous passage in the preamble. equivocal, usually applied to spoken as well as written language, also means susceptible of two or more interpretations, and it usually suggests a deliberate intent to mislead by avoiding clarity: saving face with an equivocal response to an embarrassing question. cryptic usually refers to intentional obscurity, especially in language, and often implies a private or hidden meaning but stresses resultant mystification or puzzlement: a cryptic remark that left us struggling to interpret his intention. enigmatic focuses on perplexity resulting from a mysterious or imponderable event or utterance, often one of great importance or deep significance: prophetic texts so enigmatic that their meaning has been disputed for centuries.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for ambiguous
ambiguous
/ (æmˈbɪɡjʊəs) /
adjective
having more than one possible interpretation or meaning
difficult to understand or classify; obscure
Word Origin for ambiguous
C16: from Latin ambiguus going here and there, uncertain, from ambigere to go around, from ambi- + agere to lead, act
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper