amphibology

American

[am-fuh-bol-uh-jee] / ˌæm fəˈbɒl ə dʒi /

noun

PLURAL

amphibologies

amphiboly.

amphibology British

/ æmˌfɪbəˈlɒdʒɪkəl, æmˈfɪbəlɪ, ˌæmfɪˈbɒlədʒɪ, æmˈfɪbələs /

noun

ambiguity of expression, esp when due to a grammatical construction, as in save rags and waste paper

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

amphibolic adjective
amphibological adjective
amphibologically adverb

Etymology

Origin of amphibology

1325–75; Middle English amphibologie < Late Latin amphibologia. See amphiboly, -logy

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.

It had been an excellent quaere to have posed the devil of Delphos, and must needs have forced him to some strange amphibology.

From Project Gutenberg

For many times, in their interpretation, right witty, learned, and ingenious men have been deceived through amphibologies, equivoques, and obscurity of words, no less than by the brevity of their sentences.

From Project Gutenberg

Abbreviated by subsequent usage to bête-'ni-pié, the appellation has amphibology;—for there are two words ni in the patois, one signifying "to have," and the other "naked."

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023