- [uncountable]
the state of having more than one possible meaning 歧义；一语多义 Write clear definitions in order to avoid ambiguity. 释义要写清楚以免产生歧义。 A lot of humour depends on ambiguity. 许多幽默依赖于暧昧。
Extra ExamplesIncorrect choice of words leads to ambiguity for the reader. 用词不当导致读者理解不清。 There is a degree of ambiguity in this statement. 这个声明意思有点儿含糊。 There was some ambiguity in what he said. 他的话有些含糊其词。 They had to change some of the wording in the document to resolve the ambiguity. 他们不得不更改文件中的一些词句以消除歧义。 the inherent ambiguity of language 语言本身存在的歧义
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- certain
- possible
- potential
- …
- degree
- element
- lead to
- avoid
- clarify
- …
- arise
- occur
- surround
- …
- ambiguity about
- ambiguity in
- a source of ambiguity
- [countable]
a word or statement that can be understood in more than one way 模棱两可的词；含混不清的语句 Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- certain
- possible
- potential
- …
- degree
- element
- lead to
- avoid
- clarify
- …
- arise
- occur
- surround
- …
- ambiguity about
- ambiguity in
- a source of ambiguity
- [uncountable, countable]
the state of being difficult to understand or explain because of involving many different aspects 模棱两可；不明确 You must understand the ambiguity of my position. 你必须理解我处的位置不明确。 There will always be some ambiguity about what actually happened. 对于实际发生的事情总是会有一些弄不清楚的地方。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- certain
- possible
- potential
- …
- degree
- element
- lead to
- avoid
- clarify
- …
- arise
- occur
- surround
- …
- ambiguity about
- ambiguity in
- a source of ambiguity
Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French ambiguite or Latin ambiguitas, from ambiguus ‘doubtful’ (from ambigere ‘waver, go around’, from ambi- ‘both ways’ + agere ‘to drive’).