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

The announcement, sparse on specific details, captured the trepidation and lingering ambivalences that AI companies have about policing young users, even as OpenAI begins to implement these basic features nearly three years after the launch of ChatGPT. —Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 18 Sep. 2025

Ipsos’ global survey shows the ambivalence in stark numbers. —Diana Spehar, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025

This was, of course, a celebration, but one made sweeter and more memorable by an underlying sense of ambivalence. —Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025

For me and many other diasporicans, being Puerto Rican embodies mixed feelings, or ambivalence, about identity and history. —Héctor M. Varela Rios, The Conversation, 8 Sep. 2025

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

Rhymes for ambivalence

• equivalence

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