ambivalent

adjective

am·biv·a·lent am-ˈbi-və-lənt

: having or showing simultaneous and contradictory attitudes or feelings toward something or someone : characterized by ambivalence

… people whose relationship to their job is ambivalent, conflicted.—

Terrence Rafferty

Americans are deeply ambivalent about the country's foreign role. Isolationist yearnings coexist uneasily with superpower policies.—

David P. Calleo

ambivalently adverb

He spoke ambivalently about his military experiences.

Did you know?

Ambivalent typically describes either a person who has contradictory feelings about a thing, or the contradictory feelings themselves. For example, someone who is ambivalent about attending an event both wants and doesn’t want to go; the person’s feelings about attending the event are ambivalent. Ambivalent, along with the noun ambivalence, entered English during the early 20th century in the field of psychology, both terms being borrowings from German. The prefix ambi- means “both,” and the -valent and -valence parts ultimately come from the Latin verb valēre, meaning “to be strong.” Be careful not to confuse ambivalent with another ambi word, ambiguous, which means “having more than one possible interpretation.”

Did you know?

Ambiguous vs. Ambivalent

Dating to the 16th century, ambiguous is quite a bit older than ambivalent, which entered English as a loan from German in the early 20th century. It was coined by the psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler (who also introduced the term Schizophrenie, "schizophrenia," and Autismus, "autism"). Both words are in some fashion concerned with duality: ambivalent relates to multiple and contradictory feelings, whereas ambiguous typically describes something with several possible meanings that create uncertainty.

The words’ etymologies offer some help in distinguishing between them. Their shared prefix, ambi-, means "both." The -valent in ambivalent was extracted from German äquivalent, "equivalent," from Late Latin aequivalens, "having equal strength," and, in combination with ambi-, suggests the pull of two different emotions. The -ig- in ambiguous, on the other hand, comes ultimately from Latin agere ("to drive, to lead"); paired with ambi-, it suggests movement in two directions at once, and hence, a wavering or uncertainty.

Examples of ambivalent in a Sentence

she's somewhat ambivalent about the relationship

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Kate is ambivalent about striving after a level of power, which is possibly the most preposterous detail in a series that isn't overly concerned with authenticity. —

Tom Gliatto, People.com, 31 Oct. 2024 For any society, regarding any proposition, the population will spread out on a spectrum: 20 percent will strongly disagree, 70 percent will be more ambivalent, and 10 percent will be in total agreement. —

Yiyun Li, Harper's Magazine, 23 Sep. 2024 But my main goal wasn’t to generate an ambivalent, dark female character. —

Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Aug. 2024 Though the debate has been revived following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, the nation is still ambivalent about becoming a republic. —

Peter Guo, NBC News, 21 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for ambivalent

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from German, from ambi- ambi- + -valent, in äquivalent equivalent

Note: The German term was introduced, along with Ambivalenz ambivalence, by the Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler (1857-1939) in "Zur Theorie des schizophrenen Negativismus," Psychiatrisch-Neurologische Wochenschrift, Band 12, Nr. 18 (July 30, 1910), p. 171.

First Known Use

1912, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of ambivalent was in 1912

See more words from the same year