ambivalence
Americannoun
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uncertainty or fluctuation, especially when caused by inability to make a choice or by a simultaneous desire to say or do two opposite or conflicting things.
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Psychology. the coexistence within an individual of positive and negative feelings toward the same person, object, or action, simultaneously drawing that individual in opposite directions.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ambivalence
Explanation
Someone who shows ambivalence about a person or thing has conflicting feelings. If you love your mom but find her totally embarrassing, you might feel ambivalent about having her give a presentation at your school. Originally a psychological term, ambivalence was borrowed from the German word Ambivalenz, coined in 1910 by the Swiss psychologist Eugen Bleuler. The German word was formed from the Latin prefix ambi- "in two ways" plus Latin valentia "vigor, strength."
Vocabulary lists containing ambivalence
The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 1
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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Just Mercy
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He described it as a symbol of "the messy ambivalence of my Jewish-Zionist identity".
From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026
Wall Street’s ambivalence toward retail investors was summed up by Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., explaining what convinced him to get out of the stock market before the Crash of 1929.
From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026
Dianne, a onetime star with a flatlined career and on the wrong side of 50, toggles between worrying she’ll never act again and ambivalence about even trying.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
Nguyen captures the ambivalence and anxiety surrounding these decisions.
From Salon • Mar. 27, 2026
Francis Poulenc neatly summed up the prevailing French ambivalence towards Wagner by saying that, after listening to him, it was necessary to cleanse one’s spirit and ears by listening to Mozart.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
