Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Open to two or more interpretations and often intended to mislead; ambiguous. See Synonyms at ambiguous.
- adj. Of uncertain significance.
- adj. Of a doubtful or uncertain nature.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Being of doubtful signification; capable of being understood in different senses; ambiguous; doubtful: as, an equivocal word, term, or sense; an equivocal answer.
- Of doubtful quality, origin, or significance; capable of being ascribed to different motives or causes; suspicious; dubious: as, an equivocal character; equivocal relations; an equivocal reputation.
- Equivocating.
- Synonyms Doubtful, Ambiguous, etc. (see obscure, a.); indeterminate.
- n. A word or term of doubtful meaning, or capable of different interpretations.
Wiktionary
- n. A word or expression capable of different meanings; an ambiguous term; an equivoque.
- adj. Literally Having two or more significations equally applicable; capable of double or multiple interpretation; of doubtful meaning; ambiguous; uncertain; as, equivocal words; an equivocal sentence.
- adj. Capable of being ascribed to different motives, or of signifying opposite feelings, purposes, or characters; deserving to be suspected; as, his actions are equivocal.
- adj. Uncertain, as an indication or sign; doubtful, incongruous.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. (Literally,
called equally one thing or the other; hence:) Having two significations equally applicable; capable of double interpretation; of doubtful meaning; ambiguous; uncertain. - adj. Capable of being ascribed to different motives, or of signifying opposite feelings, purposes, or characters; deserving to be suspected.
- adj. Uncertain, as an indication or sign; doubtful.
- n. A word or expression capable of different meanings; an ambiguous term; an equivoque.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. open to question
- adj. uncertain as a sign or indication
- adj. open to two or more interpretations; or of uncertain nature or significance; or (often) intended to mislead
Etymologies
- From Late Latin aequivocus : Latin aequi-, equi- + Latin vocāre, to call; see wekw- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“It seems like modern games require certain equivocal traits in order to be considered "good".”
“Men lifted an eyebrow and called it "equivocal" -- to use the phrase of”
Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great - Volume 13 Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Lovers
“Accordingly, they sometimes put down their thoughts in bits, in short, equivocal, and paradoxical sentences which appear to mean much more than they say (a splendid example of this kind of writing is furnished by Schelling’s treatises on”
“Accordingly, they sometimes put down their thoughts in bits, in short, equivocal, and paradoxical sentences which appear to mean much more than they say (a splendid example of this kind of writing is furnished by Schelling's treatises on”
“Suppose those terms equivocal, and to be taken in one sense by him, and by them in another, and nothing can be rightly concluded from what is spoken of them.”
“But, without passing into the sphere of ethics, there are two cases — known as the equivocal right of equity and necessity — which claim a juridical decision, yet for which no one can be found to give such a decision, and which, as regards their relation to rights, belong, as it were, to the”
“The results, described as equivocal, indicate that at the current state of research, meditation can be at best considered an adjunctive therapy when it comes to treating anxiety and mood disorders - most studies failed to demonstrate it as a reliable primary method of treating these conditions.”
“And so there is this kind of equivocal issue of how to interpret it.”
“One source indicated that at least two of the earlier drafts were "equivocal" and "nuanced" -- but noted over time they became "more advocative" of the views of then-Vice President Dick Cheney and others in the Bush administration that aggressive interrogation techniques were necessary to prevent new terror attacks.”
Murray Waas: Torture Memo Author Advocated Presidential Pardons, Jury Nullification
“Adorno shows, in typically dialectical fashion, how "equivocal" — that is his word — the key terms in question are (Adorno, 741).”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘equivocal’.
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Familiar
Just a list of words
fulminate, unctuous, malediction, lumpenproletariat, descry, surfeit, sententious, supernumerary, unabashed, picayune, obliterate, decry and 110 more...
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Dominant/Submissive
single-minded, self-seeking, vain, territorial, stubborn, self-possessed, unwary, self-important, rigid, relentless, resolute, purposeful and 189 more...
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allover
reintegrate, spight, surveillant, harmonize, Colophon, workplace, bigoted, unsighted, bridgework, salutation, voltmeter, octane and 159 more...
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SAT Words
But only the ones that I don't already know.
abase, abash, abominate, abstruse, acclivity, accolade, accost, adroit, adulate, adulterate, adumbrate, affray and 241 more...
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From reading
Collected from reading
venerate, reprobate, reticent, adoration, ethereal, ephemeral, equivocal, contumacious, heinous, solicitous, agnostic, aberration and 335 more...
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Words build meanings from origins( et...
These come from gamma meditation ,I think.
discursive, exogenous, machinations, purportedly, sumptuous, congruity, cantankerous, incongruous, festoon, hessian, ratiocinative, stratigraphic and 2046 more...
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Shakespurian drivel
swagger, zany, undress, puke, eyeball, inaudible, pander, besmirch, bandit, equivocal, marketable, mimic
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Philosophic , etymology
every major discipline has uniquely developed esoteric nomenclature to facilitate interdisciplinary dissemination
quale , qualia, elegy, tacet, lexicon, annunciate, caste, eros, contrive, purlicue, irony, venacular, dilapidate and 567 more...
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GRE
GRE words from Princeton Review guide, ETS GRE Book from 2010 (for revised test), New Yorker/NY Times articles.
sycophant, obsequious, volubility, equanimity, enervate, effrontery, impertinent, platitude, impudence, quiescent, propitiate, equivocate and 124 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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gre2
aberrant, aberration, aboveboard, abrasive, abstemious, acme, admonish, affable, affluent, alacrity, allegory, alleviate and 1846 more...
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magoosh1
aberration, aboveboard, abysmal, ace, affable, aghast, alacrity, ambiguous, ambivalent, ameliorate, amenable, amiable and 215 more...
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to memorize
words i need to memorize
aberrant, abscond, advocate, aggrandize, amalgamate, ambiguous, ambrosial, anomalous, antediluvian, antipathy, arbitrate, assuage and 163 more...
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SAT Words
But only the ones that I don't already know.
abase, abash, abominate, abstruse, acclivity, accolade, accost, adroit, adulate, adulterate, adumbrate, affray and 241 more...
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GRE
vacillate, prosaic, auspicious, insipid, cerbic, acerbic, pertinacious, rapacious, specious, belied, assiduous, intractable and 8 more...
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My preparation
for GRE ofcourse
morbid, disparate, incipient, exonerate, engross, ebullient, predilection, propensity, allure, qualms, chastise, perpetuate and 111 more...
Tweets
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