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ambivalent

adjective

am·​biv·​a·​lent am-ˈbi-və-lənt How to pronounce ambivalent (audio)
: having or showing simultaneous and contradictory attitudes or feelings toward something or someone : characterized by ambivalence
… people whose relationship to their job is ambivalent, conflicted. Terrence Rafferty
Americans are deeply ambivalent about the country's foreign role. Isolationist yearnings coexist uneasily with superpower policies. David P. Calleo
ambivalently adverb
He spoke ambivalently about his military experiences.

Did you know?

The words ambivalent and ambivalence entered English during the early 20th century in the field of psychology. They came to us through the International Scientific Vocabulary, a set of words common to people of science who speak different languages. The prefix ambi- means "both," and the -valent and -valence parts ultimately derive from the Latin verb valēre, meaning "to be strong." Not surprisingly, an ambivalent person is someone who has strong feelings on more than one side of a question or issue.

Did you know?

Ambiguous vs. Ambivalent

The difficulty that many people have in distinguishing between ambiguous and ambivalent shows that all that is needed to create confusion with words is to begin them with several of the same letters. In spite of the fact that these two words have histories, meanings, and origins that are fairly distinct, people often worry about mistakenly using one for the other.

Dating to the 16th century, ambiguous is quite a bit older than ambivalent, which appears to have entered English in the jargon of early 20th-century psychologists. Both words are in some fashion concerned with duality: ambivalent relates to multiple and contradictory feelings, whereas ambiguous often describes something with several possible meanings that create uncertainty.

The words’ etymologies offer some help in distinguishing between them. Their shared prefix, ambi-, means "both." The -valent in ambivalent comes from the Late Latin valentia ("power") and, in combination with ambi-, suggests the pull of two different emotions. The -guous in ambiguous, on the other hand, comes ultimately from Latin agere ("to drive, to lead"); paired with ambi-, it suggests movement in two directions at once, and hence, a wavering or uncertainty.

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web As the novel comes to a close, Paul takes Frances on an impromptu road trip to visit a series of his friends, most of whom appear ambivalent about him. Ella Fox-martens, The Atlantic, 3 Sep. 2022 Still, the majority of Americans still seem ambivalent about the prospect of actually joining a union themselves, according to the survey. Colin Lodewick, Fortune, 31 Aug. 2022 López Obrador had previously seemed ambivalent about his case. Mark Stevenson, BostonGlobe.com, 16 July 2022 The process has left some other locals ambivalent about the upgrade in status. Graham Averill, Outside Online, 22 Dec. 2020 MacAskill, who still does his own laundry, was deeply ambivalent about the deterioration of frugality norms in the community. Gideon Lewis-kraus, The New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2022 Brown had been publicly ambivalent about the phrase, but was struggling to keep sponsors in light of its polarizing nature. Aj Willingham, CNN, 17 July 2022 The move is also designed to spur more 5G adoption among consumers who have been largely ambivalent about the faster connections. BostonGlobe.com, 14 June 2022 Meta employees appear to be ambivalent regarding Zuckerberg’s leadership of the company Sandberg is leaving behind. Jonathan Vanian, Fortune, 2 June 2022 See More

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from German, from ambi- ambi- + -valent, in äquivalent equivalent

Note: The German term was introduced, along with Ambivalenz ambivalence, by the Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler (1857-1939) in "Zur Theorie des schizophrenen Negativismus," Psychiatrisch-Neurologische Wochenschrift, Band 12, Nr. 18 (July 30, 1910), p. 171.

First Known Use

1912, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ambivalent was in 1912

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