ambiguity

Definition of ambiguity in English English dictionary: The state of being ambiguous; Something liable to more than one interpretation, explanation or meaning, if that meaning etc cannot be determined from its context
His speech was made with such great ambiguity that neither supporter nor opponent could be certain of his true position.; unclearness by virtue of having more than one meaning an expression whose meaning cannot be determined from its context; {n} a double meaning occasioning doubt; Terms or words in an insurance policy which make the meaning unclear or which can be interpreted in more than one way The rule of law is that any ambiguity in the policy is construed against the insurer and in favor of the insured This is because the contract is one of adhesion; that is, the insured must adhere to what the insurer has written If the insurance does not make its contract clear, it is responsible (G); the initial bias in a carrier-phase observation of an arbitrary number of cycles; the uncertainty of the number of cycles a receiver is attempting to count If wavelength is known, the distance to a satellite can be computed once the number of cycles is established via carrier-phase processing; The openness of a word or claim to more than one interpretation; the quality of possessing more than one meaning; words to which interview parties may assign very different meanings; Language in the insurance policy that can be subject to different interpretations Any ambiguity in a policy is always construed against the insurance company; A standard policy provision that proves to be ambiguous may be interpreted in the light most favorable to the insured; The state of having more than one meaning Fallacy of Ambiguity; the use of a word or expression to mean more than one thing Close Window; an expression whose meaning cannot be determined from its context; A term, or sentence, is ambiguous when it has two or more distinctly different interpretations Examples: (1) "She has gone to the bank " ("River bank" or "financial institution"?) (2) "Flying planes can be dangerous " ("Flying a plane can be dangerous" or "Planes flying [overhead] can be dangerous [to the persons below them]"?; syntactic ambiguity; - An expression in a given context is ambiguous (or is used ambiguously) if and only if it is misleading or potentially misleading because it is hard to determine which of a number of possible meanings is intended in that context; Applied to words and expressions, the state of being doubtful or indistinct in meaning or capable of being understood in more than one way (See also Denotation, Paronomasia, Pun) (Compare Connotation); The quality of having more than one possible meaning or interpretation In case of ambiguity between more than one valid goal within 200 m of the co-ordinates, the goal achieving the least advantageous result will be place upon a competitor's declaration 12 1 3; In common conversation, ambiguity is a negative term applied to a vague or equivocal expression when precision would be more useful Sometimes, however, intentional ambiguity in literature can be a powerful device, leaving something undetermined in order to open up multiple possible meanings When we refer to literary ambiguity, we refer to any wording, action, or symbol that can be read in divergent ways; Terms or words in an insurance policy which make the meaning unclear or which can be interpreted in more than one way The general rule of law is that any ambiguity in the policy is construed against the insurer and in favor of the insured This is because the contract is one of adhesion; that is, the insured must adhere to what the insurer has written If the insurance does not make its contract clear, it is responsible; a statement with two or more meanings that may seem to exclude one another in the context Grammatical ambiguity (amphibologia) occurs where a word has two or more possible word classes For example, in "BILL POSTERS WILL BE PROSECUTED," the words "BILL POSTERS" could be either adjective and common noun or a proper name Lexical ambiguity arises where one word has multiple senses (polysemous terms) or when two different words have the same sound (homonyms) Thus "present" is polysemous because it means both `current time' and `gift,' and "which" and "witch" are homonyms; For chain letters: contradictory statements and testimonials, or a lack of specificity, concerning what recipient behavior may or may not produce good or bad luck For example, will merely passing on the received copy avoid bad luck? Must you meet the deadline to receive good luck for distributing copies? Also misleading details concerning the possible national or religious source of a chain letter Might "Bishop Lawrence," a well known Episcopalian to Protestant readers in 1905, appear to be Catholic to Catholic readers [US, 1905]? Ambiguity apparently increases propagation by accommodating multiple interpretations; This means 'more than one possible meaning' The rules of grammar exist to allow a structure of words to be created that has a single meaning, i e to be unambiguous Here is an ungrammatical sentence that was an actual warning notice at the bottom of an escalator: 'Dogs must be carried on the escalator' What does this mean? Are you allowed to ride on the escalator without a dog in your arms?; This problem occurs while defining search patterns for a category system (dictionary) Because search patterns have to be defined unique, ambiguity must not occur Example: pot This can mean the same as a cup, but it can also mean a certain drug The search pattern ' pot ' is ambiguous It makes sense that you examine the context by doing a concordance of the text unit; - An expression in a given context is ambiguous (or is used ambiguously) if and only ifÂ it is misleading or potentially misleading because it is hard to determine which of a number of possible meanings is intended in that context; The unknown integer number of cycles of the reconstructed carrier phase contained in an unbroken set of measurements from a single satellite pass at a single receiver; unclearness by virtue of having more than one meaning; Allows for two or more simultaneous interpretations of a word, phrase, action, or situation, all of which can be supported by the context of a work Deliberate ambiguity can contribute to the effectiveness and richness of a work, for example, in the open-ended conclusion to Hawthorne’s "Young Goodman Brown " However, unintentional ambiguity obscures meaning and can confuse readers; Words or lines with more than one possible meaning; An ambiguity is a situation where more than one meaning is possible in a sentence We consider three types of ambiguity: word-sense ambiguity structural ambiguity referential ambiguity There can be situations where more than one of these is present; - a function of connotation that allows for two or more simultaneous interpretations of a word, phrase, action or situation, all of which can be supported by the context of the work; In global satellite navigation technology, the ambiguity refers to the initial bias in the carrier-phase observation of an arbitrary number of wave cycles Ambiguity is the uncertainty of the number of cycles a receiver is attempting to count If the wavelength is known, the distance to a satellite can be computed once the number of cycles is established by processing the global navigation satellite signal's carrier phase; {i} vagueness; lack of clarity; If you say that there is ambiguity in something, you mean that it is unclear or confusing, or it can be understood in more than one way. There is considerable ambiguity about what this part of the agreement actually means. ambiguities the state of being unclear, confusing, or not certain, or things that produce this effect ambiguity in; The quality or state of being ambiguous; doubtfulness or uncertainty, particularly as to the signification of language, arising from its admitting of more than one meaning; an equivocal word or expression; ambiguousness; obscureness
role ambiguity: Lack of clarity about expected behavior from a job or position
ambiguities: plural of ambiguity