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noun, plural -ties.
1.
doubtfulness or uncertainty of meaning or intention: to speak with ambiguity; an ambiguity of manner.
2.
an unclear, indefinite, or equivocal word, expression, meaning, etc.: a contract free of ambiguities; the ambiguities of modern poetry.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Ambiguity
is a GRE word you need to know.
So is subtlety. Does it mean:
| delicacy or nicety of character or meaning; acuteness or penetration of mind |
| unwarrantedly or impertinently bold; forward |
Example Sentences
- It may be remarked in passing that the Court here appears to be creating an ambiguity which is not apparent in the text.
- From the start this music is steeped in ambiguity.
- The brain abhors ambiguity, yet we are curiously attracted to it.
Collins
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
ambiguity
c.1400, from Fr. ambiguite or directly from M.L. ambiguitatem (nom. ambiguitas), noun of state from ambiguus
(see ambiguous). Originally "uncertainty, doubt;" sense of "capability of having two meanings" is from early 15c.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia
ambiguity
use of words that allow alternative interpretations. In factual, explanatory prose, ambiguity is considered an error in reasoning or diction; in literary prose or poetry, it often functions to increase the richness and subtlety of language and to imbue it with a complexity that expands the literal meaning of the original statement. William Empson's Seven Types of Ambiguity (1930; rev. ed. 1953) remains a full and useful treatment of the subject
Learn more about ambiguity with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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