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.
So he may have been caught by surprise when the news of the plan was met in the evangelical world with ambivalence, wariness, and, occasionally, alarm.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
The ambivalence among advisers’ views may help explain why they do not appear to have much impact on their clients.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
The world’s most famous unemployed 41-year-old basketball player still hasn’t picked his next team, and the vibe is different, a mix of light ambivalence and mild impatience.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
To cope with her ambivalence, she penned a hazy, lovelorn track named “Abandoname.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
I walked that way, my hand on the ribbon, mired in my ambivalence, to the refreshment tent.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
