ambiguous

[am-big-yoo-uhs]

adjective

1. open to or having several possible meanings or interpretations; equivocal.

   an ambiguous answer.

   Antonyms: explicit

2. Linguistics.,  (of an expression) exhibiting constructional homonymity; having two or more structural descriptions, as the sequence Flying planes can be dangerous.

3. of doubtful or uncertain nature; difficult to comprehend, distinguish, or classify.

   a rock of ambiguous character.

   Synonyms: anomalous, problematic, indeterminate, vague, dubious
   Antonyms: certain

4. lacking clearness or definiteness; obscure; indistinct: an ambiguous future.

   an ambiguous shape;

   an ambiguous future.

   Synonyms: enigmatic, puzzling
   Antonyms: unambiguous, precise, clear

ambiguous

/ æmˈbɪɡjʊəs /

adjective

1. having more than one possible interpretation or meaning

2. difficult to understand or classify; obscure

Other Word Forms

• ambiguously adverb
• ambiguousness noun
• unambiguous adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ambiguous¹

First recorded in 1480–1500; from Latin ambiguus, equivalent to ambig(ere) “to dispute, contend; be undecided, doubt” (from ambi- prefix meaning “both, around” + -igere combining form of agere “to drive, lead, act”) + -uus adjective suffix; ambi-; -ous

Word History and Origins

Origin of ambiguous¹

C16: from Latin ambiguus going here and there, uncertain, from ambigere to go around, from _ambi- + agere to lead, act

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

If an order is legally ambiguous, a service member will only find out whether it was lawful to disobey at a court-martial, where a military judge decides.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

That moment was initially conceived as something much more emotional, Fuller said, but Clarke pushed back on that, favoring a more ambiguous look on his face.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The United States has long been similarly deliberately ambiguous on whether it would deploy its military to defend Taiwan.

Read more on Barron's

She can’t explain what this means, and neither can I, but it matches this peculiar and tantalizingly ambiguous collection.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

I thought what might follow would be Mr. Icke’s most provocative—and logical and interesting—departure from Sophocles, an ending of a more ambiguous and less gruesome kind.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• cryptic 
• dubious 
• enigmatic 
• equivocal 
• inconclusive 
• obscure 
• opaque 
• puzzling 
• questionable 
• uncertain 
• unclear 
• vague