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ambiguity

 - 3 dictionary results

am⋅bi⋅gu⋅i⋅ty

  [am-bi-gyoo-i-tee]
–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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Origin:
1375–1425; late ME ambiguite < L ambiguitās, equiv. to ambigu(us) ambiguous + -itās -ity

Synonyms:
1. vagueness, deceptiveness. 2. equivocation.

Antonyms:
1. explicitness, clarity.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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am·bi·gu·i·ty   (ām'bĭ-gyōō'ĭ-tē)   
n.   pl. am·bi·gu·i·ties

  1. Doubtfulness or uncertainty as regards interpretation: "leading a life of alleged moral ambiguity" (Anatole Broyard).

  2. Something of doubtful meaning: a poem full of ambiguities.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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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