Definition
Something ambiguous can honestly be read in two or more ways — and refuses to settle the question. An ambiguous reply leaves you unsure whether you were agreed with; an ambiguous law keeps courts busy for decades. The word does not mean 'vague' in the sense of empty: an ambiguous statement may be perfectly precise about each of its possible meanings. The Latin root ambigere means 'to wander around' — the meaning circles, and never lands.
Examples
- The film's ending is deliberately ambiguous, and audiences still argue about what really happened.
- His reply was so ambiguous that neither side could tell whether he had agreed.
- A single ambiguous clause in the contract led to a two-year legal dispute.
Synonyms
equivocal · unclear · open to interpretation · cryptic · double-edged
In TOEFL & IELTS
A test-maker's favorite: TOEFL reading questions ask what an author's 'ambiguous' phrasing implies, and literature passages praise 'deliberate ambiguity'. In IELTS writing, calling evidence or wording ambiguous is a precise way to criticize it. Know the noun 'ambiguity' — and do not confuse it with 'ambivalent', which describes mixed feelings in a person, not unclear meaning in a thing.