ambiguous

English

Etymology

From 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

• IPA^(key): /æmˈbɪɡjuəs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

ambiguous (comparative more ambiguous, superlative most ambiguous)

1. Open to multiple interpretations.

   Synonyms: equivocal, unclear

   Antonyms: unambiguous, clear

   The politician was criticized for his ambiguous statements and lack of precision.

2. (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....

Related terms

• ambages
• ambiguity
• ambiguate
• ambiguation
• disambiguation

Translations

open to multiple interpretations

• Albanian: i dykuptueshëm
• Arabic: غَامِض (ḡāmiḍ)
• Armenian: երկիմաստ (hy) (erkimast)
• Asturian: ambiguu
• Bulgarian: двусмислен (bg) (dvusmislen)
• Catalan: ambigu (ca)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 歧義／歧义 (kei⁴ ji⁶), 曖昧あいまい／暧昧 (oi³ mui⁶)

  Mandarin: 模かたぎ稜りょう兩りょう可か／模かたぎ棱两可か (zh) (móléngliǎngkě), 模かたぎ稜りょう两可 (zh) (móléng liǎngkě), 歧義／歧义 (zh) (qíyì), 歧义 (zh) (qíyì), 曖昧あいまい／暧昧 (zh) (àimèi), 暧昧 (zh) (àimèi)

  Min Nan 歧義／歧义, 歧义 (kî-gī), 曖昧あいまい／暧昧, 暧昧 (ài-māi)

• Czech: mnohoznačný (cs) m
• Danish: tvetydig (da), flertydig (da), dobbelttydig
• Dutch: meerduidig (nl), dubbelzinnig (nl), ambigu (nl)
• Esperanto: ambigua (eo)
• Finnish: tulkinnanvarainen
• French: ambigu (fr)
• Galician: ambiguo
• Georgian: ორაზროვანი (orazrovani)
• German: mehrdeutig (de) (doppeldeutig (de), zweideutig (de))
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἀμφίβολος (amphíbolos)

• Hebrew: דו משמעי m (du mashmaí)
• Hungarian: többértelmű, kétértelmű (hu), nem egyértelmű
• Icelandic: óskýr
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Indonesian: rancu (id), kabur (id)
• Italian: ambiguo (it) m
• Japanese: 曖昧あいまいな (ja) (aimai na)
• Korean: 모호한 (mohohan)
• Latin: ambiguus
• Macedonian: двосмислен m (dvosmislen)
• Maori: rangirua
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Norwegian: flertydig, tvetydig (no)
• Plautdietsch: dobbeldiedent
• Polish: wieloznaczny (pl), dwuznaczny (pl)
• Portuguese: ambíguo (pt), dúbio (pt)
• Romanian: ambiguu (ro), cu multe sensuri
• Russian: двусмы́сленный (ru) (dvusmýslennyj), неоднозначный (ru) (neodnoznačnyj), многозначный (ru) (mnogoznačnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: višeznačan (sh) m, dvosmislen (sh) m
• Slovene: dvoumen
• Spanish: ambiguo (es)
• Swedish: tvetydig (sv), dubbeltydig (sv), (osäker (sv))
• Tagalog: talohimig, taluhimig
• Thai: คลุมเครือ (th) (klum kreua), กำกวม (th) (gam-guuam)
• Turkish: belirsiz (tr), iki anlamlı (tr), ikircil (tr)
• Ukrainian: багатозначний (uk) (bahatoznačnyj)
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

vague and unclear

• Bulgarian: неясен (bg) (nejasen)
• Catalan: ambigu (ca)
• Danish: dunkel (da), forblommet
• Dutch: vaag (nl), onduidelijk (nl), ambigu (nl)
• Esperanto: ambigua (eo)
• Finnish: epäselvä (fi), moniselitteinen
• French: ambigu (fr) m
• Galician: ambiguo
• German: unklar (de), vage (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: ἀμφίβολος (amphíbolos)

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: félreérthető (hu), kétértelmű (hu), homályos (hu)
• Japanese: 曖昧あいまいな (ja) (aimai na)
• Macedonian: нејасен m (nejasen)
• Norwegian: vag, uklar (no)
• Portuguese: ambíguo (pt), dúbio (pt), vago (pt), indefinido (pt), impreciso (pt)
• Russian: двусмысленный (ru) (dvusmyslennyj), неясный (ru) (nejasnyj), неопределённый (ru) (neopredeljónnyj), неоднозначный (ru) (neodnoznačnyj), сомнительный (ru) (somnitelʹnyj), путанный (ru) (putannyj), нечёткий (ru) (nečótkij), противоречивый (ru) (protivorečivyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: nejasan (sh) m
• Spanish: ambiguo (es)
• Swedish: vag (sv), dunkel (sv), svävande (sv)
• Tagalog: talohimig
• Thai: คลุมเครือ (th) (klum-klʉʉa), กำกวม (th) (gam-guuam)
• Vietnamese: mơ hồ (vi)

See also

• contradictory
• mistakable
• confusing

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.