ambivalent

American  

[am-biv-uh-luhnt] / æmˈbɪv ə lənt /

adjective

1. having mixed feelings about someone or something; being unable to choose between two (usually opposing) courses of action.

   The whole family was ambivalent about the move to the suburbs.

   She is regarded as a morally ambivalent character in the play.

2. Psychology. of or relating to the coexistence within an individual of positive and negative feelings toward the same person, object, or action, simultaneously drawing that individual in opposite directions.

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Other Word Forms

• ambivalently adverb

Etymology

Origin of ambivalent

Back formation from ambivalence

Example Sentences

Yet, even at the height of fame, he chooses to remain on the margins of celebrity culture, visibly ambivalent about his own success.

From BBC

His debut show of summer menswear in June last year won widespread praise, but his women's collection in October elicited a more ambivalent reception.

From Barron's

Unlike Europe, where leaders deliberately forged a monetary union to achieve greater economic integration and enhanced security for the region, the U.S. has been ambivalent about seeking a common currency with its geographic neighbors.

From The Wall Street Journal

For many Latino members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there is an ambivalent sense of the Church’s stance on immigrants.

From Los Angeles Times

There was an ambivalent, if not stone cold, attitude towards the beefy Californian.

From BBC

Related Words

• contradictory
• doubtful
• equivocal
• hesitant
• mixed
• uncertain
• undecided
• unsure