adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective

1. 1
   Ambiguous; doubtful or unclear.

   "Never was there such an amphibolous quarrel — both parties declaring themselves for the king."

Synonyms

All synonyms

ambiguousenigmaticequivocalironicmysteriousuncertain

Example

More examples

"Never was there such an amphibolous quarrel — both parties declaring themselves for the king."

Etymology

From Latin amphibolus, Ancient Greek ἀμφίβολος (amphíbolos, “thrown about, doubtful”). See amphibole.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.