ambivalent

[ am-biv-uh-luhnt ]

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.

Other Words From

• am·biva·lent·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of ambivalent¹

Back formation from ambivalence

Example Sentences

I found a people thriving — and mostly ambivalent about this country’s partisan divide.

From Los Angeles Times

That serves to shore up the court’s ambivalent acknowledgment of the vice president’s dual role.

From Los Angeles Times

I vacillated frenetically between oversize and undersize clothes, ambivalent about whether I wanted to draw attention or repel it.

From Los Angeles Times

But scattered across this region’s tree-covered mountains, tobacco fields and orchards of apple and fig, are predominantly Sunni, Christian and Druze towns and villages — most of which are at best ambivalent toward Hezbollah.

From Los Angeles Times

Barker has not taken part in any courses that might reduce his risk of violent and sexual reoffending, the Parole Board said, adding that he was “ambivalent” about treatment.

From BBC

Related Words

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