ambivalent

adjective

am·​biv·​a·​lent am-ˈbi-və-lənt 

: having or showing simultaneous and contradictory attitudes or feelings toward something or someone : characterized by ambivalence

… people whose relationship to their job is ambivalent, conflicted.

—Terrence Rafferty

Americans are deeply ambivalent about the country's foreign role. Isolationist yearnings coexist uneasily with superpower policies.

—David P. Calleo

ambivalently adverb

He spoke ambivalently about his military experiences.

Did you know?

The words ambivalent and ambivalence entered English during the early 20th century in the field of psychology. Though they were introduced in German by the Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler in a 1910 publication, their components are Latin rather than Germanic. The prefix ambi- means "both," and the -valent and -valence parts ultimately derive from the Latin verb valēre, meaning "to be strong, be effective, have worth." Not surprisingly, an ambivalent person is someone who has strong feelings on more than one side of a question or issue.

Did you know?

Ambiguous vs. Ambivalent

Dating to the 16th century, ambiguous is quite a bit older than ambivalent, which entered English as a loan from German. It was coined by the psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler (who also introduced the term Schizophrenie, "schizophrenia," and Autismus, "autism"). Both words are in some fashion concerned with duality: ambivalent relates to multiple and contradictory feelings, whereas ambiguous often describes something with several possible meanings that create uncertainty.

The words’ etymologies offer some help in distinguishing between them. Their shared prefix, ambi-, means "both." The -valent in ambivalent was extracted from German äquivalent, "equivalent," from Late Latin aequivalens, "having equal strength," and, in combination with ambi-, suggests the pull of two different emotions. The -ig- in ambiguous, on the other hand, comes ultimately from Latin agere ("to drive, to lead"); paired with ambi-, it suggests movement in two directions at once, and hence, a wavering or uncertainty.

Synonyms

• conflicted
• equivocal

Examples of ambivalent in a Sentence

she's somewhat ambivalent about the relationship

Recent Examples on the Web

If the closet is old enough, its ties will show a whole social history of the pallid fifties turning into the ambivalent sixties turning into the florid seventies. —Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 6 July 2024

The integrity of telling my story has also felt very ambivalent. —Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 June 2024

These provincial peoples were ambivalent about being part of the British Empire. —Gordon S. Wood, Washington Post, 2 July 2024

While the original thrums like an overheated racecar engine, the Super Flu release builds slowly, replacing Cher’s Auto-Tune flourishes with a conversational delivery, trading in triumph for something more ambivalent. DJs are already testing the Super Flu single in their sets. —Elias Leight, Billboard, 26 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from German, from ambi- ambi- + -valent, in äquivalent equivalent

Note: The German term was introduced, along with Ambivalenz ambivalence, by the Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler (1857-1939) in "Zur Theorie des schizophrenen Negativismus," Psychiatrisch-Neurologische Wochenschrift, Band 12, Nr. 18 (July 30, 1910), p. 171.

First Known Use

1912, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing ambivalent

• ambivalent feelings