What is the meaning of ambiguous?

adjective

  • Open to two or more interpretations; or of uncertain nature or significance; or (often) intended to mislead.
    • usage: "an equivocal statement"; "the polling had a complex and equivocal (or ambiguous) message for potential female candidates"; "the officer's equivocal behavior increased the victim's uneasiness"; "popularity is an equivocal crown"; "an equivocal response to an embarrassing question"
  • Having more than one possible meaning.
    • usage: "ambiguous words"; "frustrated by ambiguous instructions, the parents were unable to assemble the toy"
  • Having no intrinsic or objective meaning; not organized in conventional patterns.
    • usage: "an ambiguous situation with no frame of reference"; "ambiguous inkblots"
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
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APAWordNet. (2010). Ambiguous. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/ambiguous/definitions/1167796
ChicagoWordNet. 2010. "Ambiguous" http://smartdefine.org/ambiguous/definitions/1167796 (accessed September 20, 2026).
HarvardWordNet 2010, Ambiguous, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/ambiguous/definitions/1167796>.
MLAWordNet. "Ambiguous" 23 October 2010. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/ambiguous/definitions/1167796>
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