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ambiguous

 
Dictionary: am·big·u·ous   (ăm-bĭg'yū-əs) pronunciation
adj.
  1. Open to more than one interpretation: an ambiguous reply.
  2. Doubtful or uncertain: "The theatrical status of her frequently derided but constantly revived plays remained ambiguous" (Frank Rich).

[From Latin ambiguus, uncertain, from ambigere, to go about : amb-, ambi-, around; see ambi- + agere, to drive.]

ambiguously am·big'u·ous·ly adv.
ambiguousness am·big'u·ous·ness n.

SYNONYMS   ambiguous, equivocal, obscure, recondite, abstruse, vague, cryptic, enigmatic. 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. Something equivocal is unclear or misleading: "The polling had a complex and equivocal message for potential female candidates" (David S. Broder). Obscure implies lack of clarity of expression: Some say that Blake's style is obscure and complex. Recondite and abstruse connote the erudite obscurity of the scholar: "some recondite problem in historiography" (Walter Laqueur). The students avoided the professor's abstruse lectures. What is vague is expressed in indefinite form or reflects imprecision of thought: "Vague . . . forms of speech . . . have so long passed for mysteries of science" (John Locke). Cryptic suggests a sometimes deliberately puzzling terseness: The new insurance policy is full of cryptic terms. Something enigmatic is mysterious and puzzling: The biography struggles to make sense of the artist's enigmatic life.


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Thesaurus: ambiguous
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Antonyms: ambiguous
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adj

Definition: having more than one meaning
Antonyms: clear, definite, explicit, lucid


Word Tutor: ambiguous
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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: Having an uncertain meaning.

pronunciation Lisa's answer was ambiguous.

Translations: Ambiguous
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Dansk (Danish)
adj. - tvetydig, dobbelttydig

Nederlands (Dutch)
dubbelzinnig, ambigu, met gemengde gevoelens

Français (French)
adj. - ambigu, obscur, douteux, équivoque

Deutsch (German)
adj. - doppeldeutig, doppelsinnig, mehrdeutig

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - διφορούμενος, ασαφής

Italiano (Italian)
ambiguo

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - ambíguo

Русский (Russian)
двусмысленный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - ambiguo, equívoco, impreciso

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - tvetydig, dubbeltydig

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
暧昧的, 不明确的

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 曖昧的, 不明確的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 두 가지로 해석되는

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 両義にとれる, あいまいな, 不明瞭な, 疑わしい

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) غمض, ملتبس‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮מעורפל, לא ברור‬


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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
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