ambiguous: difference between revisions
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#: {{ant|en|unambiguous}} |
#: {{ant|en|unambiguous}} |
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#: {{ux|en|The politician was criticized for his '''ambiguous''' statements and lack of precision.}} |
#: {{ux|en|The politician was criticized for his '''ambiguous''' statements and lack of precision.}} |
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# [[vague|Vague]] and unclear. {{rfv-sense|en}} |
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#: {{ant|en|unambiguous|clear|precise}} |
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#: {{ux|en|He gave an '''ambiguous''' answer.}} |
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# {{lb|en|obsolete|of persons}} [[hesitant|Hesitant]]; uncertain; not taking sides. |
# {{lb|en|obsolete|of persons}} [[hesitant|Hesitant]]; uncertain; not taking sides. |
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#* '''1662''' {{w|Thomas Salusbury}} |
#* '''1662''' {{w|Thomas Salusbury}} |
Revision as of 00:26, 4 June 2021
English
Etymology
From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin ambiguus (“moving from side to side, of doubtful nature”), from ambigere (“to go about, wander, doubt”), from ambi- (“around, about, on both sides”) + agere (“to drive, move”).
Pronunciation
Adjective
ambiguous (comparative more ambiguous, superlative most ambiguous)
- Open to multiple interpretations.
- Synonym: equivocal
- Antonym: unambiguous
- The politician was criticized for his ambiguous statements and lack of precision.
- (obsolete, of persons) Hesitant; uncertain; not taking sides.
- 1662 Thomas Salusbury
- And forasmuch as in this same question I am ambiguous, and Simplicius is resolute....
- 1662 Thomas Salusbury
Related terms
Translations
open to multiple interpretations
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vague and unclear
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See also
Further reading
- “ambiguous”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “ambiguous”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
References
- John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “ambiguous”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.
Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂en-
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂eǵ-
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with obsolete senses
- en:Ambiguity