Synonyms

disambiguate

American

[dis-am-big-yoo-eyt] / ˌdɪs æmˈbɪg yuˌeɪt /

verb (used with object)

disambiguated, disambiguating

to remove the ambiguity from; make unambiguous.

In order to disambiguate the sentence “She lectured on the famous passenger ship,” you'll have to write either “lectured on board” or “lectured about.”

disambiguate British

/ ˌdɪsæmˈbɪɡjʊˌeɪt /

verb

(tr) to make (an ambiguous expression) unambiguous

"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

disambiguation noun

Etymology

Origin of disambiguate

First recorded in 1960–65; dis- ¹ + ambigu(ous) + -ate ¹

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.

Creatives behind the numerous “Scooby-Doo” adaptations have for years tried to disambiguate Velma’s sexuality.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 5, 2022

“We have to decide: Is it really the same entity that we are referring to? Sometimes context will disambiguate for us, and often it will not,” Baron says.

From Washington Post • Jul. 12, 2019

It usually just has more information to disambiguate the interpretation.

From Slate • Feb. 27, 2015

Through a series of studies with rats, it was found that time cell activity could uniquely code successive events and were able to disambiguate overlapping sequences in temporally organized episodes.

From Scientific American • Jun. 3, 2013

I can only follow the stone's progress for a few seconds before my eyes can no longer disambiguate it from the surrounding countryside.

From Eastern Standard Tribe by Doctorow, Cory

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