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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

ambiguous

/æmˈbɪɡ.ju.əs/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:47
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Stress the syllable containing “big.”

Stress BIG. Use the hard g of go, followed by a y-like glide into the next vowel.

TRY SAYING
An ambiguous instruction.

APG practice sentence · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

What does ambiguous mean?

adjective

  1. Open to multiple interpretations.
More meanings (1)

adjective

  1. (obsolete) Hesitant; uncertain; not taking sides.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/æmˈbɪɡ.ju.əs/

Pronunciation used in the listening tip.

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

Thus 'a man' is an ambiguous description, and 'the man with the iron mask' is a definite description.
Bertrand RussellThe Problems of PhilosophyProject Gutenberg ebook #5827
The rank, wealth, and eminent character of the deceased must have insured the strictest scrutiny into every ambiguous circumstance.
Nathaniel HawthorneThe House of the Seven GablesProject Gutenberg ebook #77
More book examples (3)
And she smiled at him with a grace that might have reassured him, if he had thought her compliment ambiguous.
Henry JamesRoderick HudsonProject Gutenberg ebook #176
I may therefore indulge in language which may seem to others indirect and ambiguous, and yet be quite well understood by yourself.
Frederick DouglassMy Bondage and My FreedomProject Gutenberg ebook #202
Thirdly, the phrase "jusques a son absentement" is hopelessly ambiguous, and may as well refer to Pierre du Lis himself as to his sister.
John FiskeThe Unseen World, and Other EssaysProject Gutenberg ebook #1486