ambivalent

English

WOTD – 21 March 2008

Etymology

Back-formation from ambivalence, from German Ambivalenz, from Latin ambi- (“in two ways”) + valeō (“be strong”); equivalent to ambi- +‎ -valent.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA^(key): /æmˈbɪv.ə.lənt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Adjective

ambivalent (comparative more ambivalent, superlative most ambivalent)

1. Simultaneously experiencing or expressing opposing or contradictory feelings, beliefs, motivations, or meanings.
   • 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 77:

     In modern burlesque [...] sexual and erotic stimuli are often present in concealed and ambivalent doubles entendres.

   • 2020 January 28, Mairov Zonszein, “Christian Zionist philo-Semitism is driving Trump’s Israel policy”, in The Washington Post‎^[1], archived from the original on 30 January 2020:

     The great sociologist Zygmunt Bauman argued that philo-Semitism and anti-Semitism both fall under “allosemitism”: literally Othering the Jew. He defined it not as resentment of what is different, which is xenophobia, but rather of what defies order and clear categories. In 1997, he wrote, “The Jew is ambivalence incarnate. And ambivalence is ambivalence mostly because it cannot be contemplated without ambivalent feeling: it is simultaneously attractive and repelling.”

2. Alternately being or having one opinion or feeling, and then the opposite.

   His feelings toward his parents are ambivalent.

Usage notes

Ambivalent may be loosely used to denote lacking emotions rather than having conflicting emotions. More appropriate alternatives for a lack of emotion would be indifferent and apathetic.

Synonyms

• (simultaneously experiencing or expressing opposing feelings): conflicted, uncertain, undecided, unresolved
• (alternately feeling opposing feelings): vacillating, fluctuating, wavering

Derived terms

• ambivalently
• nonambivalent
• preambivalent
• unambivalent

Related terms

• ambiguous
• ambivalence
• equivalent

Translations

experiencing or expressing opposing feelings

• Armenian: հակասական (hy) (hakasakan), ոչ միանշանակ (očʻ mianšanak)
• Bulgarian: двойствен (bg) (dvojstven), противоречив (bg) (protivorečiv)
• Catalan: ambivalent (ca)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 矛盾 (maau⁴ teon⁵)

  Mandarin: 矛盾 (zh) (máodùn)

• Czech: ambivalentní (cs), rozporuplný
• Dutch: ambivalent (nl), ambivalente (nl)
• Finnish: kaksijakoinen, ristiriitainen (fi), epäröivä (fi), ambivalentti (fi)
• French: ambivalent (fr)
• German: ambivalent, doppelwertig, zwiespältig (de)
• Hungarian: ambivalens (hu)
• Ido: ambivalenta (io)
• Indonesian: ambivalen (id), ragu (id), bimbang (id), ragu-ragu, dwimuka (id)
• Italian: ambivalente (it)
• Japanese: どっちつかず (ja) (dotchi-tsukazu)
• Korean: 반대감정이 공존하는 (bandaegamjeong'i gongjonhaneun)
• Maori: ngākaurua, whēangaanga, rangirua
• Polish: ambiwalentny (pl)
• Portuguese: ambivalente
• Russian: дво́йственный (ru) (dvójstvennyj), противоречи́вый (ru) (protivorečívyj)
• Slovak: ambivalentný (sk), rozporuplný
• Spanish: ambivalente (es)
• Swedish: ambivalent (sv), kluven (sv)
• Turkish: ikircikli (tr), ikircimli (tr), kararsız (tr), mütereddit (tr)

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from German ambivalent.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌɑm.bi.vaːˈlɛnt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: am‧bi‧va‧lent
• Rhymes: -ɛnt

Adjective

ambivalent (comparative ambivalenter, superlative ambivalentst)

1. ambivalent (simultaneously experiencing conflicting drives) [from early 20th c.]

Declension

Declension of ambivalent
uninflected	ambivalent
inflected	ambivalente
comparative	ambivalenter
		positive	comparative	superlative
predicative/adverbial		ambivalent	ambivalenter	het ambivalentst het ambivalentste
indefinite	m./f. sing.	ambivalente	ambivalentere	ambivalentste
	n. sing.	ambivalent	ambivalenter	ambivalentste
	plural	ambivalente	ambivalentere	ambivalentste
definite		ambivalente	ambivalentere	ambivalentste
partitive		ambivalents	ambivalenters	—

Derived terms

• ambivalentie

Descendants

• → Indonesian: ambivalen

French

Etymology

Borrowed from German ambivalent, from Latin ambi- + Latin valentem, the latter from the verb valeō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑ̃.bi.va.lɑ̃/

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

Adjective

ambivalent (feminine ambivalente, masculine plural ambivalents, feminine plural ambivalentes)

1. ambivalent
2. ambiguous, equivocal

Further reading

• “ambivalent”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

German

Etymology

From ambi-, ambo and valens (inflected valent-), valeo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔambivaˈlɛnt/

• Audio (Austria):

  (file)

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Adjective

ambivalent (strong nominative masculine singular ambivalenter, comparative ambivalenter, superlative am ambivalentesten)

1. ambivalent

   Seine Gefühle ihr gegenüber sind ambivalent, sowohl positiv als auch negativ.

   His feelings to her are ambivalent, positive as well as negative.

Declension

Positive forms of ambivalent

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist ambivalent	sie ist ambivalent	es ist ambivalent	sie sind ambivalent
strong declension (without article)	nominative	ambivalenter	ambivalente	ambivalentes	ambivalente
	genitive	ambivalenten	ambivalenter	ambivalenten	ambivalenter
	dative	ambivalentem	ambivalenter	ambivalentem	ambivalenten
	accusative	ambivalenten	ambivalente	ambivalentes	ambivalente
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der ambivalente	die ambivalente	das ambivalente	die ambivalenten
	genitive	des ambivalenten	der ambivalenten	des ambivalenten	der ambivalenten
	dative	dem ambivalenten	der ambivalenten	dem ambivalenten	den ambivalenten
	accusative	den ambivalenten	die ambivalente	das ambivalente	die ambivalenten
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein ambivalenter	eine ambivalente	ein ambivalentes	(keine) ambivalenten
	genitive	eines ambivalenten	einer ambivalenten	eines ambivalenten	(keiner) ambivalenten
	dative	einem ambivalenten	einer ambivalenten	einem ambivalenten	(keinen) ambivalenten
	accusative	einen ambivalenten	eine ambivalente	ein ambivalentes	(keine) ambivalenten

Comparative forms of ambivalent

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist ambivalenter	sie ist ambivalenter	es ist ambivalenter	sie sind ambivalenter
strong declension (without article)	nominative	ambivalenterer	ambivalentere	ambivalenteres	ambivalentere
	genitive	ambivalenteren	ambivalenterer	ambivalenteren	ambivalenterer
	dative	ambivalenterem	ambivalenterer	ambivalenterem	ambivalenteren
	accusative	ambivalenteren	ambivalentere	ambivalenteres	ambivalentere
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der ambivalentere	die ambivalentere	das ambivalentere	die ambivalenteren
	genitive	des ambivalenteren	der ambivalenteren	des ambivalenteren	der ambivalenteren
	dative	dem ambivalenteren	der ambivalenteren	dem ambivalenteren	den ambivalenteren
	accusative	den ambivalenteren	die ambivalentere	das ambivalentere	die ambivalenteren
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein ambivalenterer	eine ambivalentere	ein ambivalenteres	(keine) ambivalenteren
	genitive	eines ambivalenteren	einer ambivalenteren	eines ambivalenteren	(keiner) ambivalenteren
	dative	einem ambivalenteren	einer ambivalenteren	einem ambivalenteren	(keinen) ambivalenteren
	accusative	einen ambivalenteren	eine ambivalentere	ein ambivalenteres	(keine) ambivalenteren

Superlative forms of ambivalent

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist am ambivalentesten	sie ist am ambivalentesten	es ist am ambivalentesten	sie sind am ambivalentesten
strong declension (without article)	nominative	ambivalentester	ambivalenteste	ambivalentestes	ambivalenteste
	genitive	ambivalentesten	ambivalentester	ambivalentesten	ambivalentester
	dative	ambivalentestem	ambivalentester	ambivalentestem	ambivalentesten
	accusative	ambivalentesten	ambivalenteste	ambivalentestes	ambivalenteste
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der ambivalenteste	die ambivalenteste	das ambivalenteste	die ambivalentesten
	genitive	des ambivalentesten	der ambivalentesten	des ambivalentesten	der ambivalentesten
	dative	dem ambivalentesten	der ambivalentesten	dem ambivalentesten	den ambivalentesten
	accusative	den ambivalentesten	die ambivalenteste	das ambivalenteste	die ambivalentesten
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein ambivalentester	eine ambivalenteste	ein ambivalentestes	(keine) ambivalentesten
	genitive	eines ambivalentesten	einer ambivalentesten	eines ambivalentesten	(keiner) ambivalentesten
	dative	einem ambivalentesten	einer ambivalentesten	einem ambivalentesten	(keinen) ambivalentesten
	accusative	einen ambivalentesten	eine ambivalenteste	ein ambivalentestes	(keine) ambivalentesten

Related terms

• Ambivalenz

Further reading

• “ambivalent” in Duden online
• “ambivalent” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French ambivalent.

Adjective

ambivalent m or n (feminine singular ambivalentă, masculine plural ambivalenți, feminine and neuter plural ambivalente)

1. ambivalent

Declension

Declension of ambivalent

		singular				plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine		masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	ambivalent		ambivalentă		ambivalenți	ambivalente
	definite	ambivalentul		ambivalenta		ambivalenții	ambivalentele
genitive- dative	indefinite	ambivalent		ambivalente		ambivalenți	ambivalente
	definite	ambivalentului		ambivalentei		ambivalenților	ambivalentelor

Swedish

Adjective

ambivalent (not comparable)

1. ambivalent

Usage notes

Often implies calm ambivalence, like in English – not caring much one way or the other due to mixed feelings. Kluven (“torn”) might imply more mentally uncomfortable ambivalence.

Declension

Inflection of ambivalent

Indefinite	positive	comparative	superlative1
common singular	ambivalent	—	—
neuter singular	ambivalent	—	—
plural	ambivalenta	—	—
masculine plural2	ambivalente	—	—
Definite	positive	comparative	superlative
masculine singular3	ambivalente	—	—
all	ambivalenta	—	—

¹ The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.
² Dated or archaic.
³ Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.

Related terms

• ambivalens

See also

• kluven

References

• ambivalent in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• ambivalent in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)