The -valent in ambivalent was extracted from German äquivalent, "equivalent," from Late Latin aequivalens, "having equal strength," and, in combination with ambi-, suggests the pull of two …

Ambivalent means "having mixed feelings about something." A Swiss psychologist named Eugen Bleuler coined the German word Ambivalenz in the early twentieth century, and it was soon imported …

May 29, 2025 · New research on ambivalence can help us make being ambivalent work for us rather than against us. It’s a universal human experience: feeling unable to choose between going on doing …

She is an ambivalent figure because she is not the subject of power but its carrier (the connotations of disease are appropriate here).

Feb 21, 2026 · Ambivalent may be loosely used to denote lacking emotions rather than having conflicting emotions. More appropriate alternatives for a lack of emotion would be indifferent and …

If you say that someone is ambivalent about something, they seem to be uncertain whether they really want it, or whether they really approve of it.

Ambivalent means "having mixed feelings about something." A Swiss psychologist named Eugen Bleuler coined the German word Ambivalenz in the early twentieth century, and it was soon imported …

The meaning of AMBIVALENCE is simultaneous and contradictory attitudes or feelings (such as attraction and repulsion) toward an object, person, or action. How to use ambivalence in a sentence.

If you are ambivalent about something, you feel two ways about it. 'Ambiguous', on the other hand, means "unclear or capable of being understood in two or more different ways."

But this trait has also sometimes made him appear ambivalent, an apt pose for a scholar-statesman but riskily indecisive for a president.