ambivalence
Use Ambivalence in a sentence
ə noun
1.
uncertainty or fluctuation, especially when caused by inability to make a choice or by a simultaneous desire to say or do two opposite or conflicting things.
2.
Psychology. the coexistence within an individual of positive and negative feelings toward the same person, object, or action, simultaneously drawing him or her in opposite directions.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To ambivalence
Collins
World English Dictionary
ambivalence or ambivalency (æmˈbɪvələns) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| the simultaneous existence of two opposed and conflicting attitudes, emotions, etc | |
| ambivalency or ambivalency | |
| —n | |
| am'bivalent or ambivalency | |
| —adj | |
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
Cite This Source
00:10
Ambivalence
is a GRE word you need to know.
So is inchoate. Does it mean:
| Made between two persons or groups |
| not yet completed or fully developed; rudimentary. |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
ambivalence
"simultaneous conflicting feelings," 1924, from Ger. Ambivalenz, coined 1910 by Swiss psychologist Eugen Bleuler (18571939) on model of Ger. Equivalenz "equivalence," etc., from L. ambi- "both" (see ambi-) + valentia "strength," from prp. of valere "be strong" (see
valiant). A psychological term that by 1929 had taken on a broader literary and general sense.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
ambivalence am·biv·a·lence (ām-bĭv'ə-ləns)
n.
The coexistence of opposing attitudes or feelings toward a person, an object, or an idea.
am·biv'a·lent adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Example sentences
In private conversations, there is ambivalence and uncertainty.
The mood was expectant, spirits generally high, though not without a dampening note of ambivalence.
But by then he had settled his ambivalence about politics.
The well-known discrepancy between what parents say and what they do arises in this case from a deep ambivalence about television.
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