What are some alternative words for ambiguous?
Synonyms for ambiguous
æmˈbɪg yu əs
This thesaurus page is about all possible synonyms, equivalent, same meaning and similar words for the term ambiguous.
Princeton's WordNet
equivocal, ambiguous(adj)
open to two or more interpretations; or of uncertain nature or significance; or (often) intended to mislead
"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"
Synonyms:
equivocalAntonyms:
unambiguous, structured, monosemousambiguous(adj)
having more than one possible meaning
"ambiguous words"; "frustrated by ambiguous instructions, the parents were unable to assemble the toy"
Synonyms:
equivocalAntonyms:
monosemous, unambiguous, structuredambiguous(adj)
having no intrinsic or objective meaning; not organized in conventional patterns
"an ambiguous situation with no frame of reference"; "ambiguous inkblots"
Synonyms:
equivocalAntonyms:
structured, monosemous, unambiguous
Wiktionary
ambiguous(adjective)
Synonyms:
equivocalAntonyms:
unambiguous, specific, preciseambiguous(adjective)
Open to multiple interpretations.
The politician was criticized for his ambiguous statements and lack of precision.
Synonyms:
equivocalAntonyms:
specific, precise, unambiguousambiguous(adjective)
Vague and unclear.
He gave an ambiguous answer.
Synonyms:
equivocalAntonyms:
specific, precise, unambiguousambiguous(adjective)
Of persons: hesitant; uncertain; not taking sides.
Thomas Salusbury (1662): And forasmuch as in this same question I am ambiguous, and Simplicius is resolute....
Synonyms:
equivocalAntonyms:
specific, unambiguous, precise
English Synonyms and Antonyms
ambiguous
Equivocal (Latin equus, equal, and vox, voice, word) denotes that which may equally well be understood in either of two or more ways. Ambiguous (Latin ambi, around, and ago, drive, lead) signifies lacking in distinctness or certainty, obscure or doubtful through indefiniteness of expression. Ambiguous is applied only to spoken or written statements; equivocal has other applications. A statement is ambiguous when it leaves the mind of the reader or hearer to fluctuate between two meanings, which would fit the language equally well; it is equivocal when it would naturally be understood in one way, but is capable of a different interpretation; an equivocal expression is, as a rule, intentionally deceptive, while an ambiguous utterance may be simply the result of a want either of clear thought or of adequate expression. That which is enigmatical must be guessed like a riddle; a statement may be purposely made enigmatical in order to provoke thought and study. That is doubtful which is fairly open to doubt; that is dubious which has become the subject of doubts so grave as scarcely to fall short of condemnation; as, a dubious reputation. Questionable may be used nearly in the sense either of dubious or of doubtful; a questionable statement is one that must be proved before it can be accepted. To say that one's honesty is questionable is a mild way of saying that in the opinion of the speaker he is likely to prove dishonest. Equivocal is sometimes, tho more rarely, used in this sense. A suspicious character gives manifest reason to be suspected; a suspicious temper is inclined to suspect the motives and intentions of others, with or without reason. Compare CLEAR.
Synonyms:
doubtful, dubious, enigmatic, enigmatical, equivocal, indefinite, indeterminate, indistinct, obscure, perplexing, questionable, suspicious, uncertainAntonyms:
certain, clear, distinct, evident, indisputable, indubitable, lucid, manifest, obvious, perspicuous, plain, unambiguous, unequivocal, unquestionable, unquestioned
Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms
ambiguous
Synonyms:
equivocal, vague, doubtful, enigmatical, uncertain, obscure, unintelligible, perplexing, indistinct, dubiousAntonyms:
univocal, obvious, plain, clear, unambiguous, indisputable, necessary, unmistakable, unequivocal, lucid
Dictionary of English Synonymes
ambiguous(a.)
Synonyms:
doubtful, dubious, uncertain or equivocal, enigmatical, indefinite, indistinct, vague, indeterminate, not plain, not clear, susceptible of more than one meaning
Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated Words
ambiguous(a)
Synonyms:
indefinite, delphic, equivocal, vague, doubtful
PPDB, the paraphrase database
List of paraphrases for "ambiguous":
unclear, equivocal, vague, mysterious, ambivalent, obscure, dubious, blurred, shadowy, half-hearted, confusing, unambiguous, uncertain
Words popularity by usage frequency
rank | word | |
---|---|---|
#9735 | mysterious | |
#10949 | confusing | |
#11666 | uncertain | |
#12929 | unclear | |
#13380 | obscure | |
#13890 | suspicious | |
#14437 | vague | |
#15385 | questionable | |
#17795 | ambiguous | |
#20066 | doubtful | |
#22231 | indefinite | |
#23071 | dubious | |
#23615 | blurred | |
#32675 | unambiguous | |
#36208 | indeterminate | |
#37424 | enigmatic | |
#38689 | shadowy | |
#45217 | unintelligible | |
#45950 | ambivalent | |
#53854 | perplexing | |
#67973 | indistinct | |
#70807 | equivocal |
How to use ambiguous in a sentence?
If you take a look at the Joker, it's an ambiguous mixture between something funny and something menacing, it's a horror clown and that's kind of, somehow cool. You can make memes of that.
We train and operate in dynamic, complex and ambiguous environments and our operators are empowered and trusted to independently make difficult decisions during missions, they have consistently proven that their empowerment and trust is warranted. Allegations that indicate otherwise are, and will continue to be, investigated by the appropriate military and law enforcement authorities.
This term about grams of sugar is so ambiguous. We try converting it into teaspoons so that people can really understand and see what a teaspoon is. So if you see on the back of a juice 20 grams [of sugar], divide that by four, and you know there's 5 teaspoons of sugar in that juice packet, and you'd never put 5 teaspoons in your cup of tea for your child, yet you'd give it in a juice quite easily. So people need to know that.
The President is allowed to adopt reasonable interpretations of ambiguous federal statutes.
There is no specific agreement for a phased rollback of the tariffs, the American side has been ambiguous when and which tariffs will be lifted. The Chinese have some wishful thinking and are trying to soothe their domestic hardliners that the tariffs will someday come off.
Translations for ambiguous
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- غامضArabic
- двусмислен, неясенBulgarian
- ambiguCatalan, Valencian
- mnohoznačnýCzech
- tvetydig, flertydig, forblommet, dobbelttydig, dunkelDanish
- mehrdeutig, doppeldeutig, unklar, vage, zweideutigGerman
- ambiguoSpanish
- مبهمPersian
- moniselitteinen, tulkinnanvarainen, epäselväFinnish
- ambiguFrench
- ambiguoGalician
- félreérthetőHungarian
- երկիմաստArmenian
- rancu, kaburIndonesian
- óskýrIcelandic
- ambiguoItalian
- 曖昧, 曖昧なJapanese
- ორაზროვანიGeorgian
- amphibologiceLatin
- rangiruaMāori
- нејасен, двосмисленMacedonian
- vaag, dubbelzinnig, ambigu, onduidelijkDutch
- vag, flertydig, tvetydig, uklarNorwegian
- wieloznaczny, dwuznacznyPolish
- vago, indefinido, dúbio, ambíguo, imprecisoPortuguese
- ambiguu, cu multe sensuriRomanian
- двусмысленныйRussian
- višeznačan, dvosmislen, nejasanSerbo-Croatian
- i dykuptueshëmAlbanian
- dubbeltydig, osäker, svävande, tvetydig, vag, dunkelSwedish
- คลุมเครือThai
- malaboTagalog
- belirsizTurkish
- مبہمUrdu
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Translation
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Citation
Use the citation below to add these synonyms to your bibliography:
"ambiguous." Synonyms.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2021. Web. 15 Jan. 2021. <https://www.synonyms.com/synonym/ambiguous>.