ambivalence

noun

am·​biv·​a·​lence am-ˈbi-və-lən(t)s How to pronounce ambivalence (audio)
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
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.
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 Editor’s picks The 100 Best TV Episodes of All Time The 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time That ambivalence started to fade in the mid-Nineties when the E Street Band first reunited. Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 20 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for ambivalence 

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of ambivalence was in 1909

Dictionary Entries Near ambivalence

Cite this Entry

“Ambivalence.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ambivalence. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.

Medical Definition

ambivalence

noun
am·​biv·​a·​lence am-ˈbiv-ə-lən(t)s How to pronounce ambivalence (audio)
: 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 rebellionG. S. Blum
ambivalent adjective
ambivalently adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on ambivalence

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