ambiguity
Americannoun
plural
ambiguities-
doubtfulness or uncertainty of meaning or intention.
to speak with ambiguity;
an ambiguity of manner.
- Synonyms:
- deceptiveness, vagueness
- Antonyms:
- clarity, explicitness
-
an unclear, indefinite, or equivocal word, expression, meaning, etc..
a contract free of ambiguities;
the ambiguities of modern poetry.
- Synonyms:
- equivocation
noun
-
the possibility of interpreting an expression in two or more distinct ways
-
an instance of this, as in the sentence they are cooking apples
-
vagueness or uncertainty of meaning
there are several ambiguities in the situation
Other Word Forms
- nonambiguity noun
Etymology
Origin of ambiguity
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English ambiguite, from Latin ambiguitās, equivalent to ambigu(us) ambiguous ( def. ) + -itās -ity ( def. )
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.
That includes the need to maintain the ambiguities and the nuance of the film as Tracy wrote it.
From Barron's
This matters most because ambiguity over his goal has been repeatedly questioned in Congress and the path to it is strewn with the greatest risks of all.
From BBC
Their findings show that at least one microbe can tolerate ambiguity in its genetic code, overturning a central assumption in biology.
From Science Daily
In Miriam, Hawthorne invests all the moral ambiguities of a fallen modern world.
Byrne’s moral ambiguity and haunted expressions as a young attorney on “Damages” brought her two Emmy nominations.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
