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ambivalent

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am⋅biv⋅a⋅lence

  [am-biv-uh-luhns]
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–noun
1. uncertainty or fluctuation, esp. 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.
Also, am⋅biv⋅a⋅len⋅cy.

Origin:
1910–15; ambi- + valence

Related forms:
am⋅biv⋅a⋅lent, adjective
am⋅biv⋅a⋅lent⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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am·biv·a·lent   (ām-bĭv'ə-lənt)   
adj.  Exhibiting or feeling ambivalence.
am·biv'a·lent·ly adv.
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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Word Origin & History

ambivalence 
"simultaneous conflicting feelings," 1924, from Ger. Ambivalenz, coined 1910 by Ger. psychologist Eugen Bleuler (on model of equivalence, etc.) from L. ambi- "both" + 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. Ambivalent first recorded 1916.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: am·biv·a·lence
Pronunciation: am-'biv-&-l&n(t)s
Function: noun
: simultaneous and contradictory attitudes orfeelings (as attraction and repulsion) toward an object, person, or action ambivalence which is expressed in behavior by alternating obedience and rebellion, followed byself-reproach —G. S. Blum> —am·biv·a·lent /-l&nt/ adjective —am·biv·a·lent·ly adverb
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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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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