ambivalent

C2 Topic:Register & Style
US /æmˈbɪvələnt/ UK /æmˈbɪv.ə.lənt/
adj Freq #38061

Meanings

  1. 1
    adj

    uncertain or unable to decide about what course to follow

    Was ambivalent about having children.

  2. 2
    adj

    Alternately being or having one opinion or feeling, and then the opposite.

    His feelings toward his parents are ambivalent.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
2 adj · alternately being or having... fluctuatingvacillatingwavering
Word family
Derived forms ambivalentlynonambivalentpreambivalentunambivalent
Related forms ambiguousambivalenceequivalent

Etymology

Back-formation from ambivalence, from German Ambivalenz, from Latin ambi- (“in two ways”) + valeō (“be strong”); equivalent to ambi- + -valent. Compare ambivert.

Topics

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