am·big·u·ous
(ăm-bĭǵyōō-əs)
[From Latin ambiguus, uncertain, from ambigere, to go about, amb-, ambi-, around; see ambi–, + agere, to drive.]
adjective
- Open to more than one interpretation: an ambiguous reply.
- Doubtful or uncertain: “The theatrical status of her frequently derided but constantly revived plays remained ambiguous” (Frank Rich)
derivatives
- am·biǵu·ous·ly
- adverb
- am·biǵu·ous·ness
- noun
synonyms:
ambiguous, equivocal, obscure, recondite, abstruse, vague, cryptic, enigmatic These adjectives mean lacking clarity of meaning. Ambiguous indicates the presence of two or more possible meanings: Frustrated by ambiguous instructions, I was unable to assemble the toy. Something equivocal is unclear or misleading: “The polling had a complex and equivocal message for potential female candidates” (David S. Broder) Obscure implies lack of clarity of expression: Some say that Blake's style is obscure and complex. Recondite and abstruse connote the erudite obscurity of the scholar: “some recondite problem in historiography” (Walter Laqueur) The students avoided the professor's abstruse lectures. What is vague is expressed in indefinite form or reflects imprecision of thought: “Vague . . . forms of speech . . . have so long passed for mysteries of science” (John Locke) Cryptic suggests a sometimes deliberately puzzling terseness: The new insurance policy is full of cryptic terms. Something enigmatic is mysterious and puzzling: The biography struggles to make sense of the artist's enigmatic life.
