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During the Cold War, we lived in coded times when it wasn't easy and there were shades of grey and ambiguity.
John le Carre

Meaning of "ambiguity" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

PRONUNCIATION OF AMBIGUITY

ambiguity  [ˌæmbɪˈɡjuːɪtɪ] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF AMBIGUITY

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Ambiguity is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES AMBIGUITY MEAN IN ENGLISH?

ambiguity

Ambiguity

Ambiguity is an attribute of any concept, idea, statement or claim whose meaning, intention or interpretation cannot be definitively resolved according to a rule or process consisting of a finite number of steps. The concept of ambiguity is generally contrasted with vagueness. In ambiguity, specific and distinct interpretations are permitted, whereas with information that is vague, it is difficult to form any interpretation at the desired level of specificity. Context may play a role in resolving ambiguity. For example, the same piece of information may be ambiguous in one context and unambiguous in another.

Definition of ambiguity in the English dictionary

The first definition of ambiguity in the dictionary is the possibility of interpreting an expression in two or more distinct ways. Other definition of ambiguity is an instance of this, as in the sentence they are cooking apples. Ambiguity is also vagueness or uncertainty of meaning.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH AMBIGUITY


acuity
əˈkjuːɪtɪ
annuity
əˈnjuːɪtɪ
assiduity
ˌæsɪˈdjuːɪtɪ
circuity
səˈkjuːɪtɪ
conspicuity
ˌkɒnspɪˈkjuːɪtɪ
contiguity
kɒntɪˈɡjuːɪtɪ
continuity
ˌkɒntɪˈnjuːɪtɪ
discontiguity
ˌdɪskɒntɪˈɡjuːɪtɪ
discontinuity
dɪsˌkɒntɪˈnjuːɪtɪ
exiguity
ˌeɡzɪˈɡjuːɪtɪ
fatuity
fəˈtjuːɪtɪ
fortuity
fɔːˈtjuːɪtɪ
gratuity
ɡrəˈtjuːɪtɪ
ingenuity
ˌɪndʒɪˈnjuːɪtɪ
innocuity
ˌɪnəˈkjuːɪtɪ
innocuousness
ˌɪnəˈkjuːɪtɪ
perpetuity
ˌpɜːpɪˈtjuːɪtɪ
perspicuity
ˌpɜːspɪˈkjuːɪtɪ
promiscuity
ˌprɒmɪˈskjuːɪtɪ
vacuity
væˈkjuːɪtɪ

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE AMBIGUITY

ambidexterity
ambidexterous
ambidextrous
ambidextrously
ambidextrousness
ambience
ambient
ambient music
ambient noise
ambiguities
ambiguous
ambiguously
ambiguousness
ambilateral
ambimoustrous
ambiophony
ambipolar
ambisexual
ambisexuality
ambisonics

WORDS THAT END LIKE AMBIGUITY

antiquity
biscuity
congruity
deferred annuity
employment equity
equity
fruity
immediate annuity
in perpetuity
incongruity
inequity
iniquity
life annuity
negative equity
obliquity
private equity
propinquity
superfluity
tenuity
ubiquity

Synonyms and antonyms of ambiguity in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

SYNONYMS OF «AMBIGUITY»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «ambiguity» and belong to the same grammatical category.
synonyms of ambiguity

Translation of «ambiguity» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF AMBIGUITY

Find out the translation of ambiguity to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of ambiguity from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «ambiguity» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

模棱两可
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

ambigüedad
570 millions of speakers

English

ambiguity
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

अस्पष्टता
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

الغموض
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

неоднозначность
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

ambiguidade
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

অস্পষ্টতা
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

ambiguïté
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Kekaburan
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Unklarheit
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

あいまいさ
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

애매함
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Ambiguitas
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

mơ hồ
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

தெளிவின்மை
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

संदिग्धता
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

belirsizlik
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

ambiguità
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

dwuznaczność
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

неоднозначність
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

ambiguitate
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

ασάφεια
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

dubbelsinnigheid
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

tvetydighet
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

tvetydighet
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of ambiguity

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «AMBIGUITY»

The term «ambiguity» is quite widely used and occupies the 26.557 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Quite widely used
88
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «ambiguity» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of ambiguity
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «ambiguity».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «AMBIGUITY» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «ambiguity» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «ambiguity» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about ambiguity

EXAMPLES

10 QUOTES WITH «AMBIGUITY»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word ambiguity.
1
Julian Baggini
Accepting that the world is full of uncertainty and ambiguity does not and should not stop people from being pretty sure about a lot of things.
2
Julian Baggini
The mark of a mature, psychologically healthy mind is indeed the ability to live with uncertainty and ambiguity, but only as much as there really is. Uncertainty is no virtue when the facts are clear, and ambiguity is mere obfuscation when more precise terms are applicable.
3
Jason Beghe
I've yet to meet a person in my life who doesn't have some moral ambiguity.
4
Kingman Brewster, Jr.
If I take refuge in ambiguity, I assure you that it's quite conscious.
5
John le Carre
During the Cold War, we lived in coded times when it wasn't easy and there were shades of grey and ambiguity.
6
Joe Cornish
One of my favourite films is called 'Lacombe Lucien,' directed by Louis Malle. The lead character in that film, like the lead characters in many '70s and '80s films, has a moral ambiguity to him.
7
John Crowley
Men tend to try to struggle to be more rational and reduce things to simplicity more and are more impatient with ambiguity than women are.
8
Barry Eisler
I'm not sure why I'm so drawn to heroes who do bad things and to villains who think they're the good guys, but I do find that moral ambiguity and conflict makes for great characters.
9
Brendan Fletcher
'Into The Wild' had a great sense of wild, unpredictable freedom that I loved, and 'Unforgiven' is just a great western with characters that walked the line between right/wrong with an ambiguity that felt very true to frontier life.
10
John M. Ford
Naturally, the reader has access only to the events I show and the way I show them, but as has been said, there's generally a good deal of ambiguity in that presentation.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «AMBIGUITY»

Discover the use of ambiguity in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to ambiguity and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Seven Types of Ambiguity
First published in 1930, Seven Types of Ambiguity has long been recognized as a landmark in the history of English literary criticism.
William Empson, 1966
2
Ambiguity and Choice in Public Policy: Political Decision ...
This book combines theory with cases to illuminate policymaking in a variety of modern democracies.
Nikolaos Zahariadis, 2003
3
A Certain Ambiguity: A Mathematical Novel
Moving and enlightening, A Certain Ambiguity is a story about what it means to face the extent--and the limits--of human knowledge.
Gaurav Suri, Hartosh Singh Bal, 2010
4
Seven Types of Ambiguity
We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.
William Empson, 2008
5
Seven Types of Ambiguity
We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.
William Empson, 2007
6
Leadership and Ambiguity: The American College President
Examines the American college presidency, discusses goals, budgets, policy decisions, and tenure, and recommends ways to improve university administration
Michael D. Cohen, James G. March, 1986
7
Oscar Wilde and the Poetics of Ambiguity
. . . This book has authority and thoroughness."--Roy Gottfried, Vanderbilt University Oscar Wilde and the Poetics of Ambiguity presents an inclusive approach to Wilde criticism.
Michael Patrick Gillespie, 1996
8
Lexical Ambiguity Resolution: Perspectives from ...
A primary goal of this volume is to propose a cognitive science perspective arising out of the conjunction of work and approaches from neuropsychology, psycholinguistics, and artificial intelligence--thereby encouraging a closer cooperation ...
Geert Adriaens, Steven Lawrence Small, Garrison Weeks Cottrell, 1988
9
Ambiguity
Poets featured in this edition: Tony Beahan, Moonfyre Cardinal, Debby Sorenson Carlson, Drew Herr, Elizabeth Hoskings, Dr Kevin Kaos, George Kuc, Mike LaFountaine, Tim Lang, T. Russell Morris, AJ Saxon, Atom Blakk & Evelle Zorastar
A. J. Saxon, 2007
10
Ambiguity in Psycholinguistics
This text reviews the arguments and experimental results in support of each of these views, and further investigates the contributions of context and thematic constraints in the process of ambiguity resolution.
Joseph F. Kess, Ronald A. Hoppe, 1981

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «AMBIGUITY»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term ambiguity is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Cold Spring's water search could have statewide effect due to …
"These statutes were all constructed sort of piecemeal over time, and it leaves some ambiguity," Moeckel said. Central Minnesota lawmakers ... «Minneapolis Star Tribune, Jul 15»
2
Coming Next to the South Carolina Statehouse Grounds: The Klan
There should be no ambiguity that Roof and the KKK not only use a dehumanizing hate speech that presents African-Americans as mortal ... «Daily Beast, Jul 15»
3
Ambiguity surrounds CBE's decision to raise dollar price by 10 piasters
Massive ambiguity is surrounding the banking market following a surprising decision by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to raise the dollar ... «Daily News Egypt, Jul 15»
4
Munde Claims She is Innocent, But Leaves Ambiguity in Her …
Ambiguity: The BJP Government had made e-tendering mandatory for purchase of items priced over Rs 3 lakh on November 16, 2014, through ... «The New Indian Express, Jul 15»
5
Ambiguity over tendering to blame?
While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) finds itself cornered over allegations of irregularities in handing out work orders, those in the ... «Hindustan Times, Jun 15»
6
Fiduciary 'ambiguity' is primary concern for advisers
Richard Turner, vice president and deputy general counsel of AIG Life and Retirement, agrees there is enough ambiguity in the DOL's ... «Employee Benefit News, Jun 15»
7
Wanted in College Graduates: Tolerance for Ambiguity
As artificial intelligence increasingly makes many jobs obsolete, success in the future will belong to those able to tolerate ambiguity in their ... «Pulse, Jun 15»
8
Refined ambiguity: Silt apartments by bureau^proberts
Just metres from the murky waters of the Brisbane River sits an award winning project by bureau^proberts, a building with a somewhat unclear ... «Architecture and Design, Jun 15»
9
Iranian leader uses a strategy of ambiguity in nuclear talks
Whatever the interpretation, it was a classic performance by Khamenei, part of a strategy of ambiguity that analysts say he has followed for ... «Houston Chronicle, Jun 15»
10
Govt must use strategic ambiguity in debate on security legislation
In national security issues, it is indispensable to secure strategic ambiguity. At the House of Representatives special committee on the ... «The Japan News, Jun 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Ambiguity [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/ambiguity>. Jun 2026 ».
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