| 释义 |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024am•big•u•ous /æmˈbɪgyuəs/USA pronunciation adj. - open to or having several possible meanings or interpretations: He gave an ambiguous answer to that question.
- doubtful;
uncertain:in an ambiguous position.
am•big•u•ous•ly, adv. WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024am•big•u•ous (am big′yo̅o̅ əs),USA pronunciation adj. - open to or having several possible meanings or interpretations;
equivocal:an ambiguous answer. - Linguistics(of an expression) exhibiting constructional homonymity;
having two or more structural descriptions, as the sequence Flying planes can be dangerous. - of doubtful or uncertain nature;
difficult to comprehend, distinguish, or classify:a rock of ambiguous character. - lacking clearness or definiteness;
obscure;
indistinct:an ambiguous shape; an ambiguous future.
- Latin ambiguus, equivalent. to ambig(ere) be uncertain (amb- ambi- + -igere combining form of agere to drive, lead, act) + -uus deverbal adjective, adjectival suffix; see -ous
- 1520–30
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged ambiguous, equivocal, cryptic, enigmatic describe conditions or statements not clear in meaning. ambiguous can refer to a statement, act, or attitude that is capable of two or more often contradictory interpretations, usually accidentally or unintentionally so:an ambiguous passage in the preamble.equivocal, usually applied to spoken as well as written language, also means susceptible of two or more interpretations, and it usually suggests a deliberate intent to mislead by avoiding clarity:saving face with an equivocal response to an embarrassing question.cryptic usually refers to intentional obscurity, especially in language, and often implies a private or hidden meaning but stresses resultant mystification or puzzlement:a cryptic remark that left us struggling to interpret his intention.enigmatic focuses on perplexity resulting from a mysterious or imponderable event or utterance, often one of great importance or deep significance:prophetic texts so enigmatic that their meaning has been disputed for centuries.
- 3.See corresponding entry in Unabridged dubious, vague, indeterminate, unclassifiable, anomalous.
- 4.See corresponding entry in Unabridged puzzling, enigmatic, problematic.
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged explicit.
- 3.See corresponding entry in Unabridged certain.
- 4.See corresponding entry in Unabridged clear, precise, unambiguous.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: ambiguous /æmˈbɪɡjʊəs/ adj - having more than one possible interpretation or meaning
- difficult to understand or classify; obscure
Etymology: 16th Century: from Latin ambiguus going here and there, uncertain, from ambigere to go around, from ambi- + agere to lead, actamˈbiguously adv amˈbiguousness n |