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

What Kamala Harris, 59, Brings To The Reelection Effort That ambivalence has to be even greater when discussing running mates for third-party or independent candidates. —Ron Elving, NPR, 30 Mar. 2024

Hilary’s chic and charmed exterior belies the painful reality of her husband’s infidelity, her ambivalence about becoming a mother, and the generational trauma passed down by her parents. —Rebecca Sun, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Feb. 2024

Faced with this ambivalence toward the war in the very regions where the Russian military has been concentrating its recruitment efforts, the Kremlin has taken no chances. —Timothy Frye, Foreign Affairs, 25 Mar. 2024

Some residents reacted to its passage with ambivalence. —Jennifer Jett, NBC News, 23 Mar. 2024

Grace has an intriguing story line about her ambivalence as a mother, but it’s marooned in a sea of nonsense. —Alison Herman, Variety, 14 Mar. 2024

The child, says Winnicott, betrays his or her parents (and endangers him- or herself) by hating them, the people the child loves and needs, and thus the child’s ambivalence, the child’s love and hate, are a threat to his or her well-being. —Frederick Kaufman, Harper's Magazine, 26 Feb. 2024

His ambivalence reads as honesty, or at least a disarming reprieve from smarm. —TIME, 23 Feb. 2024

In this engaging book, a journalist and historian born in East Germany re-creates the ambivalence of life in the German Democratic Republic. —Katja Hoyer, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 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