multivocal

[muhl-tiv-uh-kuhl]

adjective

1. having many or different meanings of equal probability or validity.

   a multivocal word.

multivocal

/ ˌmʌltɪˈvəʊkəl /

adjective

1. having many meanings

Word History and Origins

Origin of multivocal¹

First recorded in 1800–10; multi- + vocal

Word History and Origins

Origin of multivocal¹

C19: from Latin multus many + vocare to call; on the model of _equivocal

Example Sentences

What I love most is the concentrated, multivocal assertion that Black women and gender nonconforming folks are so multifaceted that they are, in fact, infinite.

From New York Times

Then there’s the form, which attempts to expand the monologue into something more communal and multivocal.

From New York Times

The Whitney show promises a tough, complex, multivocal response to it.

From New York Times

The novel’s multivocal structure gives each narrator equal weight; the collective theme that no one can ever know what another person is thinking or experiencing comes at the price of never seeing the whole truth.

From Los Angeles Times

“The Mellon Foundation was drawn to the Great Wall because it is a truly epic project that pulls together the strands of the under-narrated history of the great, complicated, multivocal city that is Los Angeles,” she said.

From New York Times

Related Words

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