Link Centre Dictionary

ambivalent

am·bi·va·lent

US/æmˈbɪv.ə.lənt/ rare

adjective

1.

characterized by a mixture of opposite feelings or attitudes

  • “she felt ambivalent about his proposal”
  • “an ambivalent position on rent control”
Similar
2.

uncertain or unable to decide about what course to follow

  • “was ambivalent about having children”
Similar

Origin

Back-formation from ambivalence, from German Ambivalenz, from Latin ambi- (“in two ways”) + valeō (“be strong”); equivalent to ambi- + -valent. Compare ambivert.

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.