univocal

[ yoo-niv-uh-kuhl, yoo-nuh-voh- ]

adjective

1. having only one meaning; unambiguous.

univocal

/ ˌjuːnɪˈvəʊkəl /

adjective

1. unambiguous or unmistakable

noun

1. a word or term that has only one meaning

Derived Forms

• ˌuniˈvocally, adverb

Other Words From

• u·nivo·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of univocal¹

1535–45; < Late Latin ūnivōc ( us ) ( ūni- uni- + -vōcus, adj. derivative of vōx, stem vōc-, voice ) + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Jacob Frank is a complicated character who escapes univocal judgment.

From Seattle Times

It’s pretty commonplace—to some extent in journalism, academic finance literature, and economics—to talk about investors or shareholders as if they were all sort of necessarily of one mind about things or that they always agree or that they should be expected to agree or that we could clearly and easily represent their interests in a sort of univocal way.

From Slate

But the narrative emerging from key players in the Arab world for which Tunisia’s Arab Spring legacy presents a clear challenge — Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt — was far more univocal: The events in Tunisia marked the death knell for political Islam in democracy.

From Washington Post

“The univocal narrative, the chronological installation, who’s telling the story, what histories are not being told.”

From Seattle Times

For even very familiar terms there is no univocal public meaning to find.

From Salon

Related Words

• apparent
• conspicuous
• distinct
• evident
• explicit
• indisputable
• obvious
• palpable
• pronounced
• straightforward
• unambiguous
• unequivocal