unambiguous
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unambiguous
Explanation
If something is unambiguous, there are no two ways to interpret it. If your girlfriend burns all your letters, texts you that she hates you, and moves a thousand miles away, the unambiguous message is that she’s finished with you. If you're nervously reading the manual on how to trap the rattlesnake that's hiding under your bed, you'd hope the instructions would be unambiguous and tell you very clearly what to do. The word unambiguous gets its meaning from un-, meaning "not," combined with the Latin -ambi-, meaning "both ways," and -agere, meaning "to drive." So unambiguous is not driving in two directions — it's going full speed ahead, in just one direction, with only one meaning.
Vocabulary lists containing unambiguous
Power Prefix: un-
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Now I See! Synonyms for "Clear"
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Invisible Man
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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.
In an interview, UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons was unambiguous: “Full stop, this is going to be a nonpartisan institute. The fact that we are public means the standard is even higher.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 29, 2026
The lesson is uncomfortable and it is unambiguous.
From BBC • Jun. 11, 2026
The jeers were loud, sustained and unambiguous — the sound of a city that overwhelmingly voted against this man, telling him exactly what it thought of him.
From Salon • Jun. 11, 2026
Monday's filing says the trust was one of three set up for their children with "unambiguous instructions" as part of an estate plan established in 1993.
From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026
It is an intriguing question, and given Burr’s matchless skill at concealing his motives, covering his tracks, and destroying much of his private correspondence, unambiguous answers are not a realistic prospect.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
