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

My ambivalence comes from my own union experiences as a young, long-ago steelworker; as a middle-aged adjunct faculty member; and briefly, in my — gasp — old age, as a retail worker. —John Vukmirovich, Chicago Tribune, 4 June 2026

This is not someone who cannot produce a modern-day smash, but someone choosing to narrate her ambivalence about it. —Jeff Benjamin, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026

Hijras are regarded within Hindu society with a degree of ambivalence—they are often feared and shunned while also considered to possess religious power to confer fertility on newborns and newlyweds in ritual contexts. —Charles Preston, Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 May 2026

In the festival’s early years, the biggest obstacle was ambivalence. —Miami Herald, 27 May 2026

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