ambiguous
pronunciation
How to pronounce ambiguous in British English:
UK [æmˈbɪɡjuəs]
How to pronounce ambiguous in American English:
US [æmˈbɪɡjuəs]
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- Adjective:
- open to two or more interpretations; or of uncertain nature or significance; or (often) intended to mislead
- having more than one possible meaning
- having no intrinsic or objective meaning; not organized in conventional patterns
Word Origin
- ambiguous
- ambiguous: [16] Ambiguous carries the etymological notion of ‘wandering around uncertainly’. It comes ultimately from the Latin compound verb ambigere, which was formed from the prefix ambi- (as in AMBIDEXTROUS) and the verb agere ‘drive, lead’ (a prodigious source of English words, including act and agent). From the verb was derived the adjective ambiguus, which was borrowed directly into English. The first to use it seems to have been Sir Thomas More: ‘if it were now doubtful and ambiguous whether the church of Christ were in the right rule of doctrine or not’ A dialogue concerning heresies 1528.=> act, agent
- ambiguous (adj.)
- 1520s, from Latin ambiguus "having double meaning, shifting, changeable, doubtful," adjective derived from ambigere "to dispute about," literally "to wander," from ambi- "about" (see ambi-) + agere "drive, lead, act" (see act). Sir Thomas More (1528) seems to have first used it in English, but ambiguity dates back to c. 1400. Related: Ambiguously; ambiguousness.
Example
- 1. Like all prophets , keynes offered ambiguous lessons to his followers .
- 2. Another ambiguous tactic is to offer rebates to customers that reach certain sales targets .
- 3. And so on . The story purposely portrayed the protagonist in an ambiguous way .
- 4. Even more interesting , the ambiguous faces were also perceived and reacted to differently .
- 5. Though the calamity remained ambiguous , the filmmakers used real disaster footage to render their setting .