ambivalency
- noun
- /ˌæm.bɪˈveɪ.lən.si/
:
ambivalencia
- Her ambivalency about moving to a new city made it difficult for her to make a decision.
Examples
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The ambivalency he felt toward his job left him unsure whether to stay or pursue a new opportunity.
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Many students experience ambivalency about choosing their majors, torn between passions and practical considerations.
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De Swaan's approach seems much more adequate not only for historical and cross-cultural research but also for coming to grips with the dynamics, ambivalencies, and ambiguities of cultural categorization.
Academic text (1997)
Synonyms
30
7.8
A state of having both positive and negative feelings about someone or something
1
7.6
An inner struggle between opposing beliefs or desires
A feeling of strong conflict inside a person about two different loyalties
Antonyms
How Conflicted
138
4.8
1
5.7
296
4.0
19
3.4
110
2.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
ambivalency = ambivalent (transparent) = ambi + valent + cy
Formed from the adjective 'ambivalent' with the noun-forming suffix '-cy', meaning the state or quality of being ambivalent is directly derivable.
Etymology
The word ambivalency comes from ambi- meaning 'both' and valent meaning 'strong' or 'worth', as in ambidextrous, which shows 'both', and value, which shows 'worth'. So ambivalency is when you have two strong or mixed feelings at the same time.