Spenser's sarcastic and joking remarks are often misinterpreted as signs of ambivalence and often taken too seriously.
Source: tatoeba (1931)
Ambivalence
/æmˈbɪvələns/
Synonyms for "ambivalence" (90 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (18)
Noun(2 words)
Strong matches (27)
Noun(1 words)
Related words (45)
incongruityinconsistencyinconsonanceinconstancyindecisionindecisivenessinfirmity of purposeinstabilityironyirreconcilabilityirresolutionjanusmental shockmercurialitymugwumperymugwumpismnonconformabilitynonconformityoxymoronpairing
Show 20 more words
Noun(5 words)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: ambiguity, ambitendency, ambivalence of impulse, ambivalency, antinomy.
- Sentence evidence is available for ambivalence, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from moby, wordnet, derived_reverse, opengloss, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "ambivalence".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "ambivalence"
Keep "ambivalence" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "ambivalence" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "ambivalence", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "ambivalence" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
4 entriesMore specific
5 entrieschoice ambivalencecognitive ambivalenceemotional ambivalencemoral ambivalencerisk ambivalence
Collocations
6 entriesambivalence measurementambivalence scaleambivalence studycognitive ambivalenceemotional ambivalencemoral ambivalence
Inflections
1 entriesDerivations
3 entriesSample sentences
4 total sentences available.
Bonhote also noted the designer's ambivalence about the world he had chosen, clearly expressed in shows like his famous 2001 Voss, in which he forced the assembled fashion world to literally stare at itself for long minutes into a mirrored cube — which in turn represented an insane asylum.
Source: tatoeba (7009589)
"I dearly loved my master, son," she said. "You should have hated him," I said. "He gave me several sons," she said, "and because I loved my sons I learned to love their father though I hated him too." "I too have become acquainted with ambivalence, I said.
Source: wiktionary
The great sociologist Zygmunt Bauman argued that philo-Semitism and anti-Semitism both fall under “allosemitism”: literally Othering the Jew. He defined it not as resentment of what is different, which is xenophobia, but rather of what defies order and clear categories. In 1997, he wrote, “The Jew is ambivalence incarnate. And ambivalence is ambivalence mostly because it cannot be contemplated without ambivalent feeling: it is simultaneously attractive and repelling.”
Source: wiktionary
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "ambivalence"?
Closest matches include ambiguity, ambitendency, ambivalence of impulse, ambivalency, antinomy.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "ambivalence"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.