1
Core quality
Having mixed, conflicting, or uncertain feelings about something.
Example
Residents were ambivalent about the redevelopment.
ambivalent
/æmˈbɪvələnt/ · am-BIV-uh-luntadjective
Having mixed, conflicting, or uncertain feelings about something.
Use ambivalent to express this relationship precisely: having mixed, conflicting, or uncertain feelings about something.
What ambivalent Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Attributive or predicative use
Use this adjective before a suitable noun or after a linking verb such as be or seem.
Example
Her response was ambivalent: hopeful but cautious.
3
Analytical distinction
Choose it when this exact descriptive quality matters; a related word may overlap without conveying the same trait.
Example
The novel remains ambivalent toward technological change.
Use ambivalent Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
Residents were ambivalent about the redevelopment.
Her response was ambivalent: hopeful but cautious.
The novel remains ambivalent toward technological change.
Precision Matters
Ambivalent overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
ambivalent
vs.Means having mixed, conflicting, or uncertain feelings about something.
ambivalence
Means simultaneous conflicting feelings about something.
ambivalent
vs.Means having mixed, conflicting, or uncertain feelings about something.
vacillate
Means alternate indecisively between different opinions, choices, or courses of action.
ambivalent
vs.Means having mixed, conflicting, or uncertain feelings about something.
tentative
Means provisional, hesitant, or not yet certain, fixed, or fully developed.
ambivalent
vs.Means having mixed, conflicting, or uncertain feelings about something.
adamant
Means firmly refusing to change a decision, belief, or position.
Test ambivalent in Context
They hold conflicting positive and negative feelings.
1
Voters valued the project's benefits but feared its costs, leaving them deeply ___.