Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
lexical ambiguity

lexical ambiguity

8.4
A word or phrase with more than one meaning that causes confusion
  • noun
  • /ˈlɛksɪkəl æmˈbɪɡjuːɪti/
  • Specialized
translation icon : ambigüedad léxica
  • The lexical ambiguity of the word 'bank' can cause confusion between a river bank and a financial bank.

Examples

  • Teachers often discuss lexical ambiguity to help students understand how context determines meaning.

  • Automatic translation systems struggle with lexical ambiguity in languages with many homonyms.

  • The word 'bank' is a classic example of lexical ambiguity.

  • Can you explain the lexical ambiguity in this sentence?

  • Automatic translation systems struggle with lexical ambiguity in languages with many homonyms.

  • Teachers often discuss lexical ambiguity to help students understand how context determines meaning.

  • The lexical ambiguity of the word 'bank' can cause confusion between a river bank and a financial bank.

Synonyms

ambiguity
vslexical ambiguity
57 6.3

A lack of clear meaning that allows people to understand it in different ways

applies specifically to words or phrases that cause interpretive uncertainty
doubleness
vslexical ambiguity
1 7.7

A state of having two different meanings or sides at the same time

covers multiple meanings generally rather than limiting to two
equivocalness
vslexical ambiguity
9.5

A situation where something has more than one meaning and causes confusion

is the general label for a word or phrase with such uncertainty
polysemy
vslexical ambiguity
  • Specialized
8.3

One word that has two or more different meanings

focuses on uncertainty in meaning rather than context variation

How Ambiguous

homonymy
9.9
lexical ambiguity
  • Specialized
8.4
polysemy
  • Specialized
8.3
clarity
30 2.7

Surface Forms

lexical ambiguity singular
lexical ambiguities plural

Morphology

lexical + ambiguity

The phrase's meaning is directly compositional: 'lexical' (relating to vocabulary) modifies 'ambiguity' (having multiple interpretations), so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to ambiguity of words or vocabulary items. This is a common, cross-linguistically transparent formation (ADJ + NOUN) and should be understandable to a B1 learner despite being somewhat technical.

Etymology

Lexical ambiguity is like a picture: the word lexical means 'word' and ambiguity means 'not sure', so it shows one 'word' with two different meanings. For example, 'bank' can mean the side of a river or a place for money, so lexical ambiguity describes when one word causes 'confusion' about meaning.