Ambivalence

Definition

The state of having mixed, contradictory feelings or attitudes about a person, thing, or situation simultaneously.

Beyond the definition

Not confusion. Not indecision. Ambivalence is the clear experience of two real, competing feelings at once. It's feeling relieved and devastated when a relationship ends. It's wanting to stay and needing to go. It's the honest word for most of the complicated things we feel.

Origin & history

From Latin ambi 'on both sides' + valentia 'strength.' Coined in psychology by Eugen Bleuler in 1910.

Example sentences

Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.

She felt profound ambivalence about the promotion — everything she'd worked for, and nothing she wanted right now.

His ambivalence about the relationship was the relationship's problem.

Ambivalence is not weakness; it's the honest response to a genuinely hard choice.

How to use it

This entry uses a noun. Follow the examples for articles and singular or plural forms; not every noun takes “a” or “an.”

Choose “Ambivalence” when the meaning fits your context: The state of having mixed, contradictory feelings or attitudes about a person, thing, or situation simultaneously.

Synonyms

mixed feelings, indecision, conflict, uncertainty, contradiction

Antonyms

certainty, resolution, decisiveness

Related words

• cognitive-dissonance
• uncertainty
• liminal

Ambivalence vs indecision

Indecision is the inability to choose — a failure or delay of will. Ambivalence is something more honest: the simultaneous experience of two real, competing feelings about the same thing. You can be indecisive about trivial choices; ambivalence is typically about things that matter. Indecision is a problem to solve; ambivalence is often the accurate emotional response to a genuinely hard situation.

Word in the Wild

Illustrative story: an imagined scene, not a documented event or interview.

She got the job offer she'd wanted for three years. The salary was right, the title was right, the city was right. She spent the next week unable to make herself accept it.

People kept asking if something was wrong with the offer. Nothing was wrong. That was almost the problem.

She accepted eventually. Not because the ambivalence resolved. Because she learned to stop waiting for it to.

Questions about this word

What does "Ambivalence" mean?

Ambivalence is noun meaning: Feeling two opposite ways at exactly the same time.. The state of having mixed, contradictory feelings or attitudes about a person, thing, or situation simultaneously.

Which words express “mixed feelings about something”?

Ambivalence — Feeling two opposite ways at exactly the same time.

Where does the word "Ambivalence" come from?

From Latin ambi 'on both sides' + valentia 'strength.' Coined in psychology by Eugen Bleuler in 1910.