disambiguation

[ dis-am-big-yoo-ey-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act or process of distinguishing between similar things, meanings, names, etc., in order to make the meaning or interpretation more clear or certain:

   Word sense disambiguation helps determine which meaning a word has in any given context.

Word History and Origins

Origin of disambiguation¹

dis- ¹ + ambigu(ous) + -ation

Example Sentences

In a post on its website, the American Institute of Graphic Arts said Comic Sans helps readers with disabilities because of its “character disambiguation” and “variation in letter heights.”

From Seattle Times

Isis pops up in popular culture too, if you search “Isis name” on Google or visit Wikipedia’s “Isis disambiguation” page.

From The Guardian

"To get closer to how humans understand text, we need to teach the computer to understand things like slang and word-sense disambiguation," the Facebook engineers explained.

From US News

Steve Heck, Getty’s chief technology officer, says the app can help with “disambiguation” of existing metadata on photos; clarifying, for example, whether a picture tagged “Chicago” shows the musical, the city or the band.

From New York Times

Wikipedia doesn’t have a page for it, only a “disambiguation” page.

From New York Times