| word | ambiguous |
|---|---|
| definition | (1) Doubtful or uncertain especially from being obscure or indistinct. (2) Unclear in meaning because of being understandable in more than one way. |
| eg_sentence | Successful politicians are good at giving ambiguous answers to questions on difficult issues. |
| explanation | Ambiguous comes from the Latin verb ambigere, “to be undecided.” When we say someone's eyes are an ambiguous color, we mean we cannot decide which color they are—blue or green? The ambiguity of the Mona Lisa's smile makes us wonder what she's thinking about. An ambiguous order is one that can be taken in at least two ways; on the other hand, the order “Shut up!” may be rude but at least it's unambiguous |
| IPA | æmˈbɪgjuəs |
Tags: mwvb::unit:3, mwvb::unit:3:word, mwvb::word, mwvb::word-cloze, mwvb::word-reverse, obsidian_to_anki
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