Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web

unambiguous

 - 4 dictionary results

am⋅big⋅u⋅ous

[am-big-yoo-uhs]
–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


am⋅big⋅u⋅ous⋅ly, adverb
am⋅big⋅u⋅ous⋅ness, noun


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. explicit. 3. certain. 4. clear, precise, unambiguous.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To unambiguous
un·am·big·u·ous   (ŭn'ām-bĭg'yōō-əs)   
adj.  Having or exhibiting no ambiguity or uncertainty; clear.
un'am·big'u·ous·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.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

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.

unambiguous 
1751, from un- (1) "not" + ambiguous.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see unambiguous on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: