ambiguity
- ambiguity
Having more than one meaning. The simplest case is
lexical ambiguity, where a single term has two meanings. A sentence or grammatically complex construction can be ambiguous without any of the words in it being so, because of
structural ambiguity: ‘All the nice girls love a sailor’ can bear at least three meanings for this reason (there is one particular sailor, such as Prince Andrew, loved by all; to each nice girl her own sailor whom she loves; to each nice girl any sailor is lovable). See also
amphiboly,
systematic ambiguity,
type–token ambiguity,
act–object ambiguity.
Philosophy dictionary.
Academic.
2011.
:
Look at other dictionaries:
ambiguity — I noun abstruseness, ambiguitas, bafflement, bewilderment, confounded meaning, confused meaning, confusion, disconcertion, doubtful meaning, doubtfulness, dubiety, dubiousness, duplexity in meaning, equivocalness, equivocation, incertitude,… … Law dictionary
ambiguity — 1. Ambiguity in language denotes the possibility of more than one meaning being understood from what is heard or read. Intentional ambiguity can be effective, for example as a literary device or in advertising. Our concern here is with… … Modern English usage
ambiguity — ambiguity, equivocation, tergiversation, double entendre are comparable when they denote expression or, more often, an expression, capable of more than one interpretation. Ambiguity is referable to an expression that admits of two or sometimes… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
Ambiguity — Студийный альбом Brainstorm Дата выпуска 11 июля 1998 Жанр … Википедия
ambiguity — UK US /ˌæmbɪˈgjuːəti/ noun [C or U] (plural ambiguities) ► a situation in which something has more than one possible meaning and may therefore cause confusion, or an example of this: »We wish to remove any ambiguity concerning our demands. »There … Financial and business terms
Ambiguity — Am bi*gu i*ty, n.; pl. {Ambiguities}. [L. ambiguitas, fr. ambiguus: cf. F. ambiguit[ e].] The quality or state of being ambiguous; doubtfulness or uncertainty, particularly as to the signification of language, arising from its admitting of more… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
ambiguity — (n.) c.1400, uncertainty, doubt, also capability of having two meanings, from M.L. ambiguitatem (nom. ambiguitas) double meaning, noun of state from ambiguus (see AMBIGUOUS (Cf. ambiguous)) … Etymology dictionary
ambiguity — [n] uncertainty of meaning doubleentendre, double meaning, doubt, doubtfulness, dubiety, dubiousness, enigma, equivocacy, equivocality, equivocation, incertitude, inconclusiveness, indefiniteness, indeterminateness, obscurity, puzzle,… … New thesaurus
ambiguity — ► NOUN (pl. ambiguities) ▪ uncertain or inexact meaning … English terms dictionary
ambiguity — [am΄bə gyo͞o′ə tē] n. [ME ambiguite < L ambiguitas] 1. the quality or state of being ambiguous 2. pl. ambiguities an ambiguous word, statement, etc … English World dictionary
Ambiguity — Sir John Tenniel s illustration of the Caterpillar for Lewis Carroll s Alice s Adventures in Wonderland is noted for its ambiguous central figure, whose head can be viewed as being a human male s face with a pointed nose and pointy chin or being… … Wikipedia
