Meaning & use
ambiguous
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivecomparable
Able to be understood in more than one reasonable way.
Grammar: Can be more or most ambiguous; the problem is multiple meanings, not simply missing detail.
Patterns
- ambiguous wording
- remain ambiguous
- ambiguous about something
- highly ambiguous
The contract was ambiguous about who pays for repairs.
Her smile was ambiguous: friendly, amused, or simply polite.
The results remain ambiguous after two repeated tests.
Word forms
| comparative | more ambiguous |
|---|---|
| superlative | most ambiguous |
Common combinations
- ambiguous wording
- The lawyer challenged the ambiguous wording of the clause.
- remain ambiguous
- The motive remains ambiguous even at the end of the story.
- deliberately ambiguous
- The spokesperson gave a deliberately ambiguous answer to avoid a commitment.
Synonyms and how they differ
- unclear
- Unclear is broader and may mean hard to see, hear, or understand; ambiguous requires competing interpretations.
- vague
- Vague lacks precision, while ambiguous has at least two plausible readings.
- equivocal
- Equivocal often suggests avoiding a clear answer on purpose; ambiguous can be accidental.
Opposites
Word family
- ambiguity noun
- A situation, phrase, or word with more than one possible meaning.
- ambiguously adverb
- In a way that allows more than one interpretation.
- unambiguous adjective
- Having only one clear meaning.
Commonly confused: ambiguous or ambivalent?
ambiguous vs ambivalent
Ambivalent means having mixed feelings toward one thing; ambiguous means having multiple possible meanings.
Practice
Which sentence uses ambiguous correctly?
Choose one answer.
Instructions that support two different tasks are ambiguous. Mixed feelings are ambivalent, tiredness is not multiple interpretations, and an athlete cannot be ambiguous.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ambiguous”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.