Meaning & use

ambiguity

noun·Academic

The quality of having more than one possible meaning or interpretation, causing uncertainty or confusion.

See it in a sentence

The lawyer flagged the ambiguity in the clause before anyone signed the final agreement.

Poets sometimes use ambiguity deliberately, letting readers find several meanings in the same line.

A note on using this word

Ambiguity refers to unclear meaning in language or situations, while its adjective form is ambiguous.

Words with a similar meaning

vaguenessuncertainty

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

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