Adjacent Words

Equivocal definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

EQUIV'OCAL, a. [Low L. oequivocus; oequus, equal, and vox, a word. See Vocal.]
1. Being of doubtful signification; that may be understood in different senses; capable of a double interpretation; ambiguous; as equivocal words, terms or senses. Men may be misled in their opinions by the use of equivocal terms.
2. Doubtful; ambiguous; susceptible of different constructions; not decided. The character of the man is somewhat equivocal. His conduct is equivocal.
3. Uncertain; proceeding from some unknown cause, or not from the usual cause. Equivocal generation is the production of animals without the intercourse of the sexes, and of plants without seed. This doctrine is now exploded.
EQUIV'OCAL, n. A word or term of doubtful meaning, or capable of different meanings.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: open to two or more interpretations; or of uncertain nature or significance; or (often) intended to mislead; "an equivocal statement"; "the polling had a complex and equivocal (or ambiguous) message for potential female candidates"; "the officer's equivocal behavior increased the victim's uneasiness"; "popularity is an equivocal crown"; "an equivocal response to an embarrassing question" [syn: equivocal, ambiguous] [ant: unambiguous, unequivocal, univocal]
2: open to question; "aliens of equivocal loyalty"; "his conscience reproached him with the equivocal character of the union into which he had forced his son"-Anna Jameson
3: uncertain as a sign or indication; "the evidence from bacteriologic analysis was equivocal"

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Late Latin aequivocus, from aequi- equi- + voc-, vox voice — more at voice Date: 1599 1. a. subject to two or more interpretations and usually used to mislead or confuse <an equivocal statement> b. uncertain as an indication or sign <equivocal evidence> 2. a. of uncertain nature or classification <equivocal shapes> b. of uncertain disposition toward a person or thing ; undecided <an equivocal attitude> c. of doubtful advantage, genuineness, or moral rectitude <equivocal behavior> Synonyms: see obscure • equivocality noun • equivocally adverb • equivocalness noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 of double or doubtful meaning; ambiguous. 2 of uncertain nature. 3 (of a person, character, etc.) questionable, suspect. Derivatives: equivocality n. equivocally adv. equivocalness n. Etymology: LL aequivocus (as EQUI-, vocare call)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Equivocal E*quiv"o*cal, a. [L. aequivocus: aequus equal + vox, vocis, word. See Equal, and Voice, and cf. Equivoque.] 1. (Literally, called equally one thing or the other; hence:) Having two significations equally applicable; capable of double interpretation; of doubtful meaning; ambiguous; uncertain; as, equivocal words; an equivocal sentence. For the beauties of Shakespeare are not of so dim or equivocal a nature as to be visible only to learned eyes. --Jeffrey. 2. Capable of being ascribed to different motives, or of signifying opposite feelings, purposes, or characters; deserving to be suspected; as, his actions are equivocal. ``Equivocal repentances.'' --Milton. 3. Uncertain, as an indication or sign; doubtful. ``How equivocal a test.'' --Burke. Equivocal chord (Mus.), a chord which can be resolved into several distinct keys; one whose intervals, being all minor thirds, do not clearly indicate its fundamental tone or root; the chord of the diminished triad, and the diminished seventh. Syn: Ambiguous; doubtful; uncertain; indeterminate. Usage: Equivocal, Ambiguous. We call an expression ambiguous when it has one general meaning, and yet contains certain words which may be taken in two different senses; or certain clauses which can be so connected with other clauses as to divide the mind between different views of part of the meaning intended. We call an expression equivocal when, taken as a whole, it conveys a given thought with perfect clearness and propriety, and also another thought with equal propriety and clearness. Such were the responses often given by the Delphic oracle; as that to Cr?sus when consulting about a war with Persia: ``If you cross the Halys, you will destroy a great empire.'' This he applied to the Persian empire, which lay beyond that river, and, having crossed, destroyed his own, empire in the conflict. What is ambiguous is a mere blunder of language; what is equivocal is usually intended to deceive, though it may occur at times from mere inadvertence. Equivocation is applied only to cases where there is a design to deceive.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Equivocal E*quiv"o*cal, n. A word or expression capable of different meanings; an ambiguous term; an equivoque. In languages of great ductility, equivocals like that just referred to are rarely found. --Fitzed. Hall.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. If you are equivocal, you are deliberately vague in what you say, because you want to avoid speaking the truth or making a decision. (FORMAL) Many were equivocal about the idea... His equivocal response has done nothing to dampen the speculation. ADJ 2. If something is equivocal, it is difficult to understand, interpret, or explain, often because it has aspects that seem to contradict each other. (FORMAL) Research in this area is somewhat equivocal... He was tortured by an awareness of the equivocal nature of his position. ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Ambiguous, of doubtful meaning, to be taken in a double sense. 2. Uncertain, doubtful, dubious, indeterminate.

Moby Thesaurus

agnostic, amalgamated, ambagious, ambiguous, ambivalent, amphibious, amphibolic, amphibological, amphibolous, antinomic, blended, borderline, capricious, chancy, changeable, circumlocutory, clear as mud, clouded, combined, complex, composite, compound, compounded, conglomerate, dappled, dicey, dishonest, disreputable, doubtful, doubting, dubious, duplicitous, eclectic, enigmatic, enigmatical, equivocatory, erratic, evasive, fickle, fifty-fifty, fishy, forsworn, half-and-half, hazy, hedging, hesitant, hesitating, heterogeneous, incalculable, indecisive, indefinite, indemonstrable, indeterminate, indiscriminate, indistinct, intricate, ironic, irresolute, jumbled, lying, many-sided, medley, mendacious, mingled, miscellaneous, misleading, mixed, motley, multifaceted, multinational, multiracial, multivocal, mysterious, oblique, obscure, open, open to question, oxymoronic, paradoxical, patchy, perjured, perplexing, pluralistic, polysemantic, polysemous, prevaricating, problematic, promiscuous, puzzling, questionable, roundabout, scrambled, self-contradictory, skeptical, suspect, suspicious, syncretic, tenebrous, tergiversant, tergiversating, thrown together, touch-and-go, truthless, unaccountable, uncertain, unclear, unconfirmable, unconvinced, undecided, undivinable, unforeseeable, unintelligible, unpersuaded, unpredictable, unprovable, unsure, untruthful, unveracious, unverifiable, vague, variable, varied, waffling, wavering, weasel-worded, whimsical, wishy-washy