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Synonyms
ambiguous - 4 dictionary results
am⋅big⋅u⋅ous
[am-big-yoo-uh
s] 
–adjective
| 1. | open to or having several possible meanings or interpretations; equivocal: an ambiguous answer. |
| 2. | Linguistics. (of an expression) exhibiting constructional homonymity; having two or more structural descriptions, as the sequence Flying planes can be dangerous. |
| 3. | of doubtful or uncertain nature; difficult to comprehend, distinguish, or classify: a rock of ambiguous character. |
| 4. | lacking clearness or definiteness; obscure; indistinct: an ambiguous shape; an ambiguous future. |
Origin:
1520–30; < L ambiguus, equiv. to ambig(ere) be uncertain (amb- ambi- + -igere comb. form of agere to drive, lead, act) + -uus deverbal adj. suffix; see -ous
1520–30; < L ambiguus, equiv. to ambig(ere) be uncertain (amb- ambi- + -igere comb. form of agere to drive, lead, act) + -uus deverbal adj. suffix; see -ous
Related forms:
am⋅big⋅u⋅ous⋅ly, adverb
am⋅big⋅u⋅ous⋅ness, noun
Synonyms:
1. ambiguous, equivocal, cryptic, enigmatic describe conditions or statements not clear in meaning. ambiguous can refer to a statement, act, or attitude that is capable of two or more often contradictory interpretations, usually accidentally or unintentionally so: an ambiguous passage in the preamble. equivocal, usually applied to spoken as well as written language, also means susceptible of two or more interpretations, and it usually suggests a deliberate intent to mislead by avoiding clarity: saving face with an equivocal response to an embarrassing question. cryptic usually refers to intentional obscurity, especially in language, and often implies a private or hidden meaning but stresses resultant mystification or puzzlement: a cryptic remark that left us struggling to interpret his intention. enigmatic focuses on perplexity resulting from a mysterious or imponderable event or utterance, often one of great importance or deep significance: prophetic texts so enigmatic that their meaning has been disputed for centuries. 3. dubious, vague, indeterminate, unclassifiable, anomalous. 4. puzzling, enigmatic, problematic.
1. ambiguous, equivocal, cryptic, enigmatic describe conditions or statements not clear in meaning. ambiguous can refer to a statement, act, or attitude that is capable of two or more often contradictory interpretations, usually accidentally or unintentionally so: an ambiguous passage in the preamble. equivocal, usually applied to spoken as well as written language, also means susceptible of two or more interpretations, and it usually suggests a deliberate intent to mislead by avoiding clarity: saving face with an equivocal response to an embarrassing question. cryptic usually refers to intentional obscurity, especially in language, and often implies a private or hidden meaning but stresses resultant mystification or puzzlement: a cryptic remark that left us struggling to interpret his intention. enigmatic focuses on perplexity resulting from a mysterious or imponderable event or utterance, often one of great importance or deep significance: prophetic texts so enigmatic that their meaning has been disputed for centuries. 3. dubious, vague, indeterminate, unclassifiable, anomalous. 4. puzzling, enigmatic, problematic.
Antonyms:
1. explicit. 3. certain. 4. clear, precise, unambiguous.
1. explicit. 3. certain. 4. clear, precise, unambiguous.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To ambiguous
| am·big·u·ous (ām-bĭg'yōō-əs) adj.
[From Latin ambiguus, uncertain, from ambigere, to go about : amb-, ambi-, around; see ambi- + agere, to drive; see ag- in Indo-European roots.] am·big'u·ous·ly adv., am·big'u·ous·ness n. Synonyms: These adjectives mean lacking clarity of meaning. Ambiguous indicates the presence of two or more possible meanings: Frustrated by ambiguous instructions, I was unable to assemble the toy. |
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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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Ambiguous
Am*big"u*ous\, a. [L. ambiguus, fr. ambigere to wander about, waver; amb- + agere to drive.] Doubtful or uncertain, particularly in respect to signification; capable of being understood in either of two or more possible senses; equivocal; as, an ambiguous course; an ambiguous expression. What have been thy answers? What but dark, Ambiguous, and with double sense deluding? --Milton. Syn: Doubtful; dubious; uncertain; unsettled; indistinct; indeterminate; indefinite. See Equivocal.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : ambiguous
Spanish:
ambiguo,
German:
doppeldeutig,
Japanese:
あいまいな
ambiguous
1528, from L. ambiguus "having double meaning, shifting, changeable, doubtful," adj. derived from ambigere "to dispute about," lit. "to wander," from ambi- "about" + agere "drive, lead, act" (see act). Sir Thomas More (1528) seems to have first used it in Eng., but ambiguity (from L. ambiguitatem) is first recorded c.1400.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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