: simultaneous and contradictory attitudes or feelings (such as attraction and repulsion) toward an object, person, or action
felt ambivalence toward his powerful father
ambivalence toward marriage
2
a
: continual fluctuation (as between one thing and its opposite)
b
: uncertainty as to which approach to follow
ambivalence about their goals
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebThe core ambivalence of loving my father and also fearing him. Connor Goodwin, WSJ, 7 Sep. 2022 That ambivalence is what Soo finds relatable about the character. Diep Tran, NBC News, 13 July 2022 My intention was to bring visibility to the identity shift, the burning exhaustion and the ambivalence.Washington Post, 13 July 2022 The ambivalence some feel is a reminder of the trouble that Hungary’s authoritarian leader, Viktor Orban, is able to cause for his neighbors, in this case by playing on ethnic Hungarians’ feelings of discrimination by their government.New York Times, 16 June 2022 These double values reflect the ambivalence that conservatives feel about Hollywood. Armond White, National Review, 8 June 2022 That ambivalence is something of a constant for Ingles these days. Eric Walden, The Salt Lake Tribune, 9 Mar. 2022 Within the grids, opinions from community members ranged from anger to ambivalence, and in some cases, cautious praise.Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2022 In contrast to the dominant culture of Silicon Valley, where the standard personal narrative includes one or two episodes of failure on the path to inevitable achievement, Wardle is unusually prone to ambivalence and self-reproach. Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
borrowed from German Ambivalenz, from ambi-ambi- + -valenz, in Äquivalenzequivalence
ADJECTIVE | VERB + AMBIVALENCE | PREPOSITIONADJECTIVE➤deep, profound深深的矛盾◇She feels a profound ambivalence about her origins.她對自己的出身深感矛盾。➤moral, sexual道德上的矛盾心態;性問題上的矛盾心態VERB + AMBIVALENCE➤feel感到矛盾▸➤express, reflect, show表現出/反映出/顯示出矛盾心態◇The document expressed some ambivalence over the doctrine of predestination.這份文件顯示出對宿命論的某些矛盾觀點。➤resolve消除矛盾PREPOSITION➤with ambivalence態度矛盾地◇She viewed her daughter's education with ambivalence.她對女兒的教育問題看法矛盾。➤ambivalence about對⋯的矛盾心態◇their ambivalence about supporting the government他們對於支持政府的矛盾心態➤ambivalence in在⋯上的矛盾心態◇There is a sexual ambivalence in her public image.在公眾看來,她在性問題上態度矛盾。➤ambivalence over在⋯上的矛盾心理◇his ambivalence over money他在金錢問題上的矛盾心理➤ambivalence towards/toward對⋯的矛盾情緒◇She felt a certain ambivalence towards / toward him.她對他的態度有些矛盾。