ambivalence

noun

am·​biv·​a·​lence am-ˈbi-və-lən(t)s 

1

: simultaneous and contradictory attitudes or feelings (such as attraction and repulsion) toward an object, person, or action

felt ambivalence toward his powerful father

ambivalence toward marriage

2

a

: continual fluctuation (as between one thing and its opposite)

b

: uncertainty as to which approach to follow

ambivalence about their goals

Examples of ambivalence in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Because lawfare has shaken the foundations that hold society together, Eastwood’s ambivalence toward social criticism in his best recent films is admirable, but this is not necessarily a method for great moviemaking. —Armond White, National Review, 22 Nov. 2024

Not an uplifting movie but a potent one, with Abbott a highly watchable figure of ambivalence, longing, and regret. —Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 29 Sep. 2024

Irony, ambiguity, ambivalence: all create a chance for misunderstanding. —Robert Rubsam, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2024

In truth, this ambivalence existed for Jacob, too, who worried that the standardization of German in schools might downgrade dialects and the very folk speech that their lives had been devoted to capturing. —Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from German Ambivalenz, from ambi- ambi- + -valenz, in Äquivalenz equivalence

Note: See note at ambivalent.

First Known Use

1909, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

ambivalence

noun

am·​biv·​a·​lence am-ˈbiv-ə-lən(t)s 

: simultaneous and contradictory attitudes or feelings (as attraction and repulsion) toward an object, person, or action

ambivalence which is expressed in behavior by alternating obedience and rebellion

—G. S. Blum

ambivalent

-lənt 

adjective

ambivalently adverb