ambiguity

English Thesaurus

1. unclearness by virtue of having more than one meaning (noun.attribute)

hypernym	:	unclearness,
definition	:	incomprehensibility as a result of not being clear (noun.attribute)

hyponym	:	equivocation, evasiveness, prevarication,
definition	:	intentionally vague or ambiguous (noun.attribute)

hyponym	:	lexical ambiguity, polysemy,
definition	:	the ambiguity of an individual word or phrase that can be used (in different contexts) to express two or more different meanings (noun.attribute)

hyponym	:	no man's land, twilight zone,
definition	:	the ambiguous region between two categories or states or conditions (usually containing some features of both) (noun.attribute)

2. an expression whose meaning cannot be determined from its context (noun.communication)

hypernym	:	expression, locution, saying,
definition	:	a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations (noun.communication)

hyponym	:	loophole,
definition	:	an ambiguity (especially one in the text of a law or contract) that makes it possible to evade a difficulty or obligation (noun.communication)

hyponym	:	amphibology, amphiboly,
definition	:	an ambiguous grammatical construction; e.g., `they are flying planes' can mean either that someone is flying planes or that something is flying planes (noun.communication)

hyponym	:	parisology,
definition	:	the use of ambiguous words (noun.communication)

hyponym	:	double entendre,
definition	:	an ambiguity with one interpretation that is indelicate (noun.communication)

3. unclearness by virtue of having more than one meaning (noun.attribute)

antonym	:	unambiguity, unequivocalness,
definition	:	clarity achieved by the avoidance of ambiguity (noun.attribute)

derivation	:	ambiguous,
definition	:	having more than one possible meaning (adj.all)

derivation	:	ambiguous, equivocal, ambiguous, equivocal,
definition	:	open to two or more interpretations; or of uncertain nature or significance; or (often) intended to mislead (adj.all)

4. an expression whose meaning cannot be determined from its context (noun.communication)

derivation	:	ambiguous,
definition	:	having no intrinsic or objective meaning; not organized in conventional patterns (adj.all)

5. unclearness by virtue of having more than one meaning (noun.attribute)

antonym	:	unambiguity, unequivocalness,
definition	:	clarity achieved by the avoidance of ambiguity (noun.attribute)

derivation	:	ambiguous,
definition	:	having more than one possible meaning (adj.all)

derivation	:	ambiguous, equivocal, ambiguous, equivocal,
definition	:	open to two or more interpretations; or of uncertain nature or significance; or (often) intended to mislead (adj.all)

6. an expression whose meaning cannot be determined from its context (noun.communication)

derivation	:	ambiguous,
definition	:	having no intrinsic or objective meaning; not organized in conventional patterns (adj.all)