adjective
ambiguous
am-BIG-yoo-us/æmˈbɪɡjuəs/
Unclear or open to more than one interpretation.
The ambiguous drawing can look like either a duck or a rabbit.
Etymology
Latin ambiguus linked double meaning with doubt. That connection remains central: an ambiguous expression leaves uncertainty about which of its possible interpretations is intended.
In context
Most biological transformations, domestication very much included, unfold as a gradual continuum, meaning that specimens caught early in that continuum will almost by definition sit in a genuinely ambiguous zone
More examples
- His smile sends an ambiguous message.
- The contract contains an ambiguous phrase about renewal.
- She asks the writer to clarify the ambiguous ending.
Forms
ambiguity noun — Uncertainty caused by more than one interpretation.