An ambiguous statement allows more than one interpretation.

The idea

ambiguo agrees with the noun: ambigua is feminine and ambiguas feminine plural.

Examples

  • La frase es ambigua: admite dos interpretaciones.The sentence is ambiguous: it allows two interpretations.
  • El aviso ambiguo no aclara quién debe pagar.The ambiguous notice does not clarify who must pay.
  • La respuesta fue ambigua y pedimos una aclaración.The answer was ambiguous and we asked for clarification.
  • Las instrucciones ambiguas provocaron dudas en el equipo.The ambiguous instructions caused doubt in the team.
  • Ese gesto es ambiguo: puede expresar duda o sorpresa.That gesture is ambiguous: it may express doubt or surprise.
  • El título ambiguo permite leer la noticia de dos maneras.The ambiguous headline lets the news be read in two ways.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Spanish voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

Ambiguity concerns possible meanings, not simply a statement that is false.

Try it yourself

  1. Choose the correct form: El comentario es ___. (ambiguo / ambigua)

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    ambiguo

    ambiguo: The masculine noun is singular.

  2. Choose the correct form: La señal es ___. (ambiguo / ambigua)

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    ambigua

    ambigua: The feminine noun is singular.

  3. Choose the correct form: Las instrucciones son ___. (ambiguos / ambiguas)

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    ambiguas

    ambiguas: The feminine noun is plural.

Use it today

Describe an ambiguous message and explain two possible readings.