ambiguous
open to more than one interpretation
Roots
- -ous / -ious: full of or marked by a quality
- ambi-: both, around, or two-sided
Other words with the ambi- root
- ambidextrous: able to use both hands skillfully
- ambivalent: having mixed or opposing feelings
Ambi gives both or around. Ambiguous language can be pulled two ways, so the listener has to choose a path.
The professor called the policy ambiguous because two departments interpreted it differently.
Ambiguous has a two-sided feel: the meaning can go more than one way. When a sentence is ambiguous, it has not settled into one clear reading.