Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- adj. Open to more than one interpretation: an ambiguous reply.
- adj. Doubtful or uncertain: "The theatrical status of her frequently derided but constantly revived plays remained ambiguous” ( Frank Rich).
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- adj. Open to multiple interpretations.
- adj. Vague and unclear.
- adj. Of persons: hesitant; uncertain; not taking sides.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- adj. Doubtful or uncertain, particularly in respect to signification; capable of being understood in either of two or more possible senses; equivocal
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Of doubtful or uncertain nature; wanting clearness or definiteness; difficult to comprehend or distinguish; indistinct; obscure.
- Of doubtful purport; open to various interpretations; having a double meaning; equivocal.
- Wavering; undecided; hesitating: as, “ambiguous in all their doings,” Milton, Eikono-klastes (1649), p. 239.
- Using obscure or equivocal language.
- Synonyms Equivocal, etc. (see obscure), indeterminate, indefinite, indistinct, not clear, not plain, amphibolous, dubious, vague, enigmatical, dark, blind.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adj. open to two or more interpretations; or of uncertain nature or significance; or (often) intended to mislead
- adj. having no intrinsic or objective meaning; not organized in conventional patterns
- adj. having more than one possible meaning
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Examples
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Chapter, and is when we speake or write doubtfully and that the sence may be taken two wayes, such ambiguous termes they call _Amphibologia_, we call it the _ambiguous_, or figure of sence incertaine, as if one should say _Thomas Tayler_ saw _William Tyler_ dronke, it is indifferent to thinke either th'one or th'other dronke.
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˜ambiguous™ and that the Arabic philosophers, starting with Alfarabi, made being said in a prior and a posterior sense the main characteristic of all ambiguous terms.
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I think someone previously used the word ambiguous, that is absolutely spot on what he wanted.
Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph
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When a death requires a presumption, it's loved ones who can become adrift, says therapist Pauline Boss, author of two books on what she calls ambiguous loss.
Inside the High Tech Hunt for a Missing Silicon Valley Legend
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In a state where coal is seen as the fount of prosperity, Mr. Raese has seized on what he calls ambiguous statements by Mr. Manchin on proposals for a cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gases.
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Leaving the boundary between human life and nature ambiguous is a Japanese virtue.
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The person who needs to stop being ambiguous is you.
The Volokh Conspiracy » Andrew McCarthy Sticks to His Guns (And He May Be Pointing Them at You Next)
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The decision makers cannot be bothered to learn the technology, and at various levels they express their desires in ambiguous terms that are unrelated to the system design.
The Volokh Conspiracy » Interesting “Unauthorized Access” Case
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The violent incident is presented in ambiguous, deliberately confused flashbacks and is both comic and disturbing.
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More ambiguous is the view from the other side of the "brane" which verifies the father's lifelong quest, but simultaneously seems detached from the central theme.
REVIEW: The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, Volume 3 edited by George Mann
reesetee commented on the word ambiguous
At least four of which use the word itself....
August 4, 2008
bilby commented on the word ambiguous
It's just like WeirdNET to have 14 definitions for this word.
August 3, 2008