ambivalent
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
having two different feelings about something at the same time, which makes it hard to choose or decide.
simultaneously experiencing or expressing opposing or contradictory feelings, beliefs, or motivations regarding a single object or situation.
Simple“He felt ambivalent about his new job because the pay was great but the hours were long.”
In context“The public remains ambivalent about the proposed legislation, acknowledging the potential economic benefits while fearing the environmental consequences.”
UsageCommonly followed by the preposition 'about'.
PitfallI am ambivalent to the new plan. I am ambivalent about the new plan.Use the preposition 'about' to describe the subject of your mixed feelings.
SynonymsAntonyms
“But visibility – part of her curse growing up in Dumfriesshire, but a source of connection on stage – remained a profoundly ambivalent matter.”
Back-formation from ambivalence, from German Ambivalenz, from Latin ambi- (“in two ways”) + valeō (“be strong”); equivalent to ambi- + -valent. Compare ambivert.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.