Ambivalent

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /æmˈbɪv.ə.lənt/

Definitions

1. Experiencing simultaneous and opposing emotions or attitudes toward something
2. Feeling uncertain or having conflicting reactions about a particular issue or choice
3. Holding two different and often opposing feelings about a person, situation, or idea at the same time

Etymology: The key surprise is that "ambivalent" is a back-formation: English speakers built it backward from "ambivalence," not the other way round. The noun came first, borrowed from German "Ambivalenz," a term coined by the Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler in the early twentieth century to describe simultaneous conflicting feelings toward the same thing. The adjective was then formed by stripping the "-ence" ending and leaving "ambivalent" as a new word in its own right. The German noun itself rests on Latin. "Ambi-" means "in two ways" or "on both sides," and "valeo" means "be strong" or "have value," so the parts together suggest pulling with equal strength in two directions. The same "-valent" ending appears in words like "equivalent" and "bivalent," which is why the adjective feels so at home in English. The word "ambivert," a blend of "ambivalent" and "introvert" and "extrovert" in spirit, shows the pattern still at work, since English speakers continue to build new terms on this ambi-valent base.

Synonyms: uncertain, undecided, conflicted, mixed, torn

Antonyms: certain, decisive, resolved, clear, unambiguous