1
as in questionable
giving good reason for being doubted, questioned, or challenged
the evidence that this latest diet really results in lasting weight loss is certainly equivocal
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ambiguous
having an often intentionally veiled or uncertain meaning
he responded to the reporter's questions with equivocal answers or refusals to comment
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in unsure
having a mixture of opposing feelings
a number of people are clearly equivocal about allowing casino gambling in the state
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of equivocal
Still, even in those instances, Scott offers equivocal lessons.
—
Nikil Saval, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2025
Some conservative deficit hawks are much less equivocal.
—Mike Lillis, The Hill, 11 Jan. 2025
His contribution to the Wende exhibition stands out as a sweeping portrait of a surveillance state and the paradoxically equivocal picture that arises when hundreds of millions of video cameras are monitoring everything that happens in public.
—Jonathon Keats, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2024
Other experts, like Human Rights Watch founder Aryeh Neier are less equivocal, pointing to Israel’s blocking of humanitarian aid flows into and through Gaza as a clear marker of a genocide.
—William Hartung, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for equivocal
Nikil Saval, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2025
Some conservative deficit hawks are much less equivocal.
—Mike Lillis, The Hill, 11 Jan. 2025
His contribution to the Wende exhibition stands out as a sweeping portrait of a surveillance state and the paradoxically equivocal picture that arises when hundreds of millions of video cameras are monitoring everything that happens in public.
—Jonathon Keats, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2024
Other experts, like Human Rights Watch founder Aryeh Neier are less equivocal, pointing to Israel’s blocking of humanitarian aid flows into and through Gaza as a clear marker of a genocide.
—William Hartung, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for equivocal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for equivocal
Adjective
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Gordon will officially be listed as questionable for Sunday afternoon’s contest at Paycom Center, team sources told The Athletic.—
Tony Jones,
New York Times,
17 May 2025
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The Trump Administration has unleashed a torrent of unconstitutional executive orders and other questionable legal actions; with many of them, its goal seems less to win in the end than to inflict as much damage as possible along the way.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
17 May 2025
Adjective
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While critical thinking is invaluable, the tendency to fixate on ambiguous data points—many of which pertain to uncontrollable external factors—can lead to unnecessary stress.—
Davide Sartini,
Forbes.com,
1 May 2025
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The two were previously involved in a morally ambiguous mission gone wrong, which led to Vincent murdering an undercover cop.—
Skyler Trepel,
People.com,
26 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Researchers are still unsure of the exact cause of a water allergy.—
Sarah Jividen,
Verywell Health,
23 May 2025
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The letter said that educators who were unsure of their responsibility were not given guidance or support about what to do.—
Jennah Pendleton,
Sacbee.com,
23 May 2025
Adjective
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Their dubious ‘reward’ for topping the league phase table was a matchup with another of the best teams on the continent, Paris Saint-Germain, who had underperformed in the league phase but were an obvious sleeping giant.—
James Nalton,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2025
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After the 2020 election, Fox took her off the air because her promotion of the false contention Dominion voting machines rigged the election against Trump became part of its $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox. Pirro and Martin are not the only dubious department appointees.—
Carl Leubsdorf,
Mercury News,
16 May 2025
Adjective
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Neither Henry nor Devers have been willing to detail that conversation until now, as Devers finally broke his silence on the discussion with a cryptic four-word message.—
Peter Chawaga,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 May 2025
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Still, his message ended on a cheerful note that showed the musician seems to be taking the cryptic dismissal in stride.—
Glenn Rowley,
Billboard,
16 May 2025
Adjective
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Perhaps, the uneasily ambivalent final moments of this movie lead us to wonder, because the pastor couldn’t think of anywhere else to go.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
20 Mar. 2025
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Adichie’s protagonists are independent and deeply ambivalent, not so much aloof as detached, both from their love interests and from their own desires and aspirations.—
Tyler Austin Harper,
The Atlantic,
5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The transaction could generate hundreds of millions of dollars for the Trump family, further raising concerns about the president’s conflicted relationship with crypto.—
Andrew Ross Sorkin,
New York Times,
2 May 2025
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The commercial pressures to pad may have played a part; so, too, might Twain’s own conflicted relationship with America’s unresolved promises.—
Lauren Michele Jackson,
New Yorker,
28 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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This phenomenon has been further propelled by ongoing inflation, high interest rates, and an uncertain economic outlook.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2025
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In the early, uncertain days of COVID-19, when people were told to stay home to save lives, Lightfoot chose compassion over citations.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
20 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Equivocal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/equivocal. Accessed 27 May. 2025.
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