ambiguity Definition

ambiguity
noun ambiguities

1. Uncertainty of meaning.

Thesaurus: vagueness, obscurity, equivocation, indefiniteness, dubiousness, ambivalence, confusion, doubt, inconclusiveness; Antonym: certainty, clarity.
2. A word or statement that can be interpreted in more than one way.
3a. literary theory.
A word, statement, concept, theme, etc that can be interpreted in more than one way and which is employed deliberately because of this;
Example: the ambiguity of the relationships in Nabokov
3b. literary theory.
Such devices thought of collectively.
Example: Joyce's use of ambiguity can be seen as very Post-Modern

Etymology: 15c: from Latin ambiguus, from ambi- both ways + agere to drive + -ity.